Update: The Kingdom

Kuwait and Bahrain have banned controversial US movie The Kingdom that is based around the 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American citizens, officials said on Thursday.

The movie, which stars Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper, follows a team of FBI agents sent to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deadly bombings.

Both Gulf Arab states have banned the film, although it will still be released in the UAE and Qatar on Saturday, reported newswire AFP.

Kuwait has accused the film of misrepresenting facts surrounding the bombings.

"The screening of the film has been banned in Kuwait for many reasons, chiefly because it is a false depiction of facts," a source at the cinema committee of Kuwait's information ministry told AFP.

However, Bahrain has given no reason for the movie’s ban.

The film has been banned here "on orders from high up in the ministry", said Jamal Daoud, head of publications at Bahrain's information ministry, quoted the newswire.