By Jonathan Landay, M.B. Pell and Maha El Dahan
DUBAI/WASHINGTON March 21 (Reuters) - A Patriot air defence system was involved in the interception of an Iranian drone over a residential area of Bahrain on March 9, Bahrain's government said on Saturday, an incident that the U.S. military had characterised as a direct Iranian drone strike.
At the time, Bahrain said 32 civilians had been injured, including children who required medical treatment, and the U.S. military said an Iranian drone had struck a residential neighbourhood.
On Saturday, a government spokesperson said the kingdom had been subjected to multiple Iranian drone attacks that day, and that the interception over the Sitra district had prevented a drone strike and saved lives.
"During this incident, the Patriot air defence system intercepted an Iranian drone aerially," they said.
"Had the Iranian drone impacted the residential area, it would have resulted in significant loss of life."
U.S. Central Command at the time denied reports from Russian and Iranian media that a U.S. Patriot missile had failed to intercept an Iranian missile or drone and instead inadvertently struck a residential area.
The U.S.‑made Patriot surface‑to‑air missile defence system is designed to intercept missiles, drones and other aerial attacks.
It has been used by the United States and Gulf Arab allies including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar to protect cities, energy infrastructure and military bases from Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war.
(Writing by Andrew Mills; Editing by Edmund Blair and Kevin Liffey)
