The mood has changed dramatically in Bahrain following the explosion, which killed three policemen.
Just a couple of months ago, it was difficult to find moderate Sunnis or loyalists who wanted to discuss politics; everybody was quietly fed up with three years of political unrest and would much rather think about other things.
But suddenly everybody is very angry and everybody is only talking about one issue. For a small country like Bahrain the deaths of three police officers is a big thing; bringing the number of officers killed in the unrest up to 13. A significant proportion of the population have attended the funeral, paid their respects or marked the tragedy in some way.
There is a general feeling that these deaths change everything: That somehow people are unified in their anger and their desire to see an end to this.
The images of groups of people in some of the protest hotspots celebrating the deaths of the three officers who died in the line of duty, are a further factor in inflaming tensions.
This public anger didn’t come out of nowhere. The widespread rioting and violence by opposition supporters around the 14 February anniversary of the unrest aroused a strong level of public condemnation; as well as people questioning of the wisdom of holding Dialogue with the opposition, when it clearly wasn’t yet willing to withdraw its foot-soldiers from the streets.
There were some very substantial public rallies held in support of the death sentence being handed down to a militant found guilty of killing another police officer – even though the death penalty is hardly used in Bahrain and many suspect the sentence will be commuted.
There were also strong public expressions of condemnation of the killing of a further policeman during the 14 February rioting.
For the time being it is impossible to find anyone seriously discussing Dialogue as a viable option. Few people take seriously the statements by Al-Wefaq condemning violence; and in any case, there is a widespread belief that rhetoric by Al-Wefaq and figures like Ayatollah Isa Qassim created the conditions where police were seen by militants as a legitimate target.
Dialogue is, of course, the only viable option for a peaceful and mutually-agreed exit from the current crisis. But these recent incidents are a huge setback for moderates on both sides who wanted to see a smooth process of Dialogue, reconciliation, and political progress.
It may be that these terrorist incidents create the conditions where opposition societies like are forced to take more serious steps to show they are serious about Dialogue; such as distancing themselves more clearly from militants.
The coming days are likely to be very difficult for Bahrain and even relatively minor incidents could significantly inflame social tensions in the already very tense atmosphere.
In the face of very intense public anger opposition societies have a long way to go; not just in condemning terrorism, but in showing that they are willing to be active in acting against militant elements and renouncing the dangerous rhetoric that allowed such attacks to occur in the first place.