March 29 (Reuters) - Aluminium Bahrain, also

known as Alba, confirmed early Sunday that its facilities were

targeted in an Iranian attack a day earlier, Bahrain's state

news agency reported.

Alba said two people were mildly injured in the attack,

adding that it was assessing damage in the facilities.

The confirmation comes after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said

they targeted Alba and Emirates Global Aluminium in response to

attacks on two Iranian steel plants. The IRGC said, without

elaborating, that the two companies had ties to U.S. military

and aeronautics firms.

Reuters could not independently verify the IRGC's claims.

Alba had initiated earlier in March a shutdown of three

aluminium smelting lines accounting for 19% of its capacity to

preserve business continuity amid ongoing ​disruption in the

Strait of Hormuz. It followed a force majeure by the company on

March 4 since it was unable to ship metal to customers due to

the closure of the strategic strait.

The closures are the latest impact ​on the Middle East

aluminium sector, which accounts for around 9% ⁠of global

supply, from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Separately, Bahrain's Foulath Holding, the parent company of

Bahrain Steel, declared on Saturday a force majeure on its

operations due to the regional conflict and "associated security

and logistical disruptions".

It said the situation in the region has "created

circumstances beyond the group's control that have impacted

operations and logistics across parts of the group's business,"

without providing details on the size of the impact.