Ahlul Bayt News Agency - Dozens of Shias and Sunnis prayed side by side Friday in a mosque near the capital of Bahrain.
Residents said tight security was in place for the special session of weekly prayers in a mosque at Diraz.
The interior ministry ordered a strong police presence following deadly bombings at Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait carried out by extremists over the past two months.
The joint prayers were a show of Bahraini “unity in the face of those plotting against the Arab and Islamic world”, said Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa.
Bahraini authorities, backed by volunteers, have stepped up checks on those entering mosques for Friday prayers in the wake of the attacks elsewhere in the Gulf.
The country has been hit by protests for political reforms since 2011.
/129