A demonstrator in the Bahraini village of Diraz, west of Manama, shines a laser at police after clashes early on July 19. The unrest followed a car bomb that went off outside a mosque near the royal residences the day before, which prompted officials to ban a planned opposition rally. Protests have troubled the tiny Gulf kingdom since February 2011, when the country's majority Shiites began demanding a greater say in how the Sunni-led nation is ruled.