An American-operated Patriot air defense system likely fired the interceptor missile linked to a pre-dawn explosion that wounded dozens of civilians and ripped through homes in U.S.-allied Bahrain 10 days into the war on Iran, according to an analysis by academic researchers reviewed by Reuters.

Both Bahrain and Washington have blamed an Iranian drone attack for the March 9 blast, which the Gulf kingdom said injured 32 people, including children, some seriously. 

U.S. Central Command said on X that an Iranian drone struck a residential neighborhood in Bahrain.

Responding to questions from Reuters, Bahrain on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that a Patriot missile was involved in the explosion over the Mahazza neighborhood on Sitra island, just off the capital, Manama, and home to an oil refinery.

In a statement, a Bahraini government spokesperson said the missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air.

“The damage and injuries sustained were not a result of a direct impact to the ground of either the Patriot interceptor or the Iranian drone,” the spokesperson said, according to Reuters.