MANAMA, Feb 15: More than 120 protesters have been wounded in clashes with police in Bahrain this week, activists said on Wednesday, and a top opposition figure said the government had put out feelers about talks to resolve the Gulf state's year-long crisis.

There were clashes in Musalla, near Manama, and the flashpoint town of Sitra, and police were arresting people in house to house raids in Sanabis, a predominantly Shia village on the edge of the capital, and Budaiya, a district outside Manama.

"There were over 100 cases on Tuesday and 37 of them are bad, with head injuries and fractures," said a medic who works with researchers of an international organisation. "On Monday we had 20 people (wounded) in villages around the country."

The medic said some casualties had been hit by birdshot, which Bahraini police deny using.

The protests began as a spontaneous movement embracing both Shias and Sunnis, cutting across religious and class divides with demands for broad political, social and economic reform.

But they descended into sectarian violence as backroom talks on democratic reforms went nowhere, and hardliners in government and opposition seized the initiative.

Government forces backed by Saudi troops crushed last year's month-long revolt. By June, when a state of emergency was lifted, 35 people including security personnel had been killed.

The island tourism and banking hub, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet and is aligned with the United States and Saudi Arabia in their disputes with Iran over its nuclear programme, has been in turmoil ever since.

Abduljalil Khalil, who heads the parliamentary caucus of the Shia Wefaq party, the largest opposition faction, said three senior Wefaq figures met Royal Court Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed.-Reuters