* Attack condemned by authorities and opposition
* Interior Ministry bans previously tolerated marches
* Opposition sees ban as security escalation (Adds ban on march, comments from opposition)
By Maha El Dahan
ABU DHABI, July 18 (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in Bahrain on Wednesday night, the Interior Ministry said, in what government officials said was an attempt to inflame sectarian tension.
No one was reported hurt in the attack in al-Riffa south of the capital Manama, a district home to some members of the royal family.
Bahrain, a majority Shi'ite country ruled by the Sunni al-Khalifa family, has been buffeted by political unrest since 2011, with mostly Shi'ite Bahrainis agitating for democratic reforms and a greater say in how they are ruled.
Police were hunting for the bombers, who used a gas cylinder placed inside a vehicle parked outside the mosque, the ministry said.
Witnesses said several vehicles were destroyed in the blast, which took place during evening prayers.
The attack was condemned by the main Shi'ite opposition group, Wefaq, as well as government officials and King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa.
The authorities have largely crushed the revolt in the island, which is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet and sits between top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and Washington's main regional antagonist Iran, but small-scale clashes and protests erupt almost daily.
National reconciliation talks between the government and opposition parties have made little progress since they began in February.
State news agency BNA said King Hamad ordered swift action against all people who incite violence after the car bombing.
Later on Thursday, the Interior Ministry issued a statement banning a planned Friday opposition march south of the capital and warning of legal action against anyone who tried to take part.
Such weekly marches, led mainly by Wefaq, have become a mainstay of Bahraini politics and been tolerated by the government until now.
Some opposition activists saw the ban as a crackdown on political dissent after Wednesday night's bombing and ahead of larger-scale protests planned for Aug. 14.
"There is a security escalation from the authorities as a precautionary measure ahead of August 14 and the calls for mass protests modelled upon the Tamarud (Rebel!) movement of Egypt," Khalil al-Marzouq, a senior figure in Wefaq, told Reuters. (Reporting By Maha El Dahan; editing by Sami Aboudi and Tom Pfeiffer)
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