MANAMA, Bahrain –  Bahrain’s interior ministry says an explosion has killed one police officer and wounded seven other people, among them a child.

The explosion late Friday took place west of the capital, Manama, in a predominantly Shiite village called Karanah.

The ministry’s statement says four policemen were wounded, as well as a married couple and their child.

The tiny Arab Gulf nation has faced low-level unrest for more than four years, sparked by widespread 2011 protests among the country’s Shiite majority demanding greater political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy.