- 38 - shore, the Persian forces disembarked. They expected to encounter minor or no opposition at all. However, they were taken by surprise at the large troops of the Utoubs who launched an immediate attack against them. After some fierce fighting where many men from both sides were killed, the Persians gave up their arms and ran to their ships in small boats. They carried with them the body of Sheikh Mohammad, the son of Sheikh Nasser, as he was killed in the fighting. The Utoubs then turned their attention to the Bateel anchoring opposite Zubara, and attacked it. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rahma al-Qasimi was killed on the spot. The Utoubs seized the Bateel and beheaded the 18 crew and guards. The Bateel had belonged to Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini of Hurmuz and Qeshm. On the same day, the Utoub Sheiks of al-Qurain who are the cousins of the Utoubs of Zubara, sent a fleet of vessels from al-Qurain, Kuwait. It comprised a number of armed boats. As they arrived in the Island of Bahrain, they set the town on fire, looted it, and forced the troops Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr had left there to defend the island, to withdraw to the port.
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