Navy allows sailors' spouses back to Bahrain

MANAMA (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Wednesday that a 2004 ban on adult family members living with troops and sailors in Bahrain, the home of its Fifth Fleet, had been lifted, but the ban on children would remain in place for now.

The U.S. State Department ordered family members to leave the Gulf Arab island in July 2004 because of heightened security concerns. The U.S. Navy statement issued on Wednesday said the rule excluding children was unchanged and would be considered at a later date.

It said tours of duty for U.S. military personnel in Bahrain would revert to 24 months, up from 12-18 months now.

It gave no reason for the change.

In 2004, Bahrain rounded up a group of Islamists accused of planning bombings of government and foreign targets in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state, days after the U.S. security warning was issued.

Bahrain is linked by a causeway to Saudi Arabia, which was then the scene of al Qaeda attacks on Westerners.

(Reporting by Frederik Richter; editing by Tim Pearce)