An American journalist has been 'badly beaten' by suspected government thugs and at least two people have been killed as the protests in Bahrain turned violent last night.

Miguel Marquez was on the phone to ABC News while in the capital, Manama, when the a group turned on him and he was savagely attacked with truncheons, despite shouting that he was a journalist.

This latest incident comes after the revelation that CBS News reporter Lara Logan was sexually assaulted while reporting from Tahrir Square in Egypt last week, on the day erstwhile President Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

Here's a recording of the attack (Warning: Graphic content)

More From Awesome 98