MANAMA, Apr 21, 2012 (AFP) - King Hamad said on Sunday ahead of Bahrain's Grand Prix that he was committed to reform, after protests rocked villages in the Shiite-majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty.

In a statement issued a day after the body of a protester was found in a Shiite village in a case the authorities are treating as murder, the monarch also said the door was open for talks.

"I also want to make clear my personal commitment to reform and reconciliation in our great country. The door is always open for sincere dialogue amongst all our people," King Hamad said.

"Last month I received the report on progress made on the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. It confirmed that broad and substantial progress on reform has already been made by the government.

"We must of course continue the pace of reform."

Shiite-led protests have intensified in Bahrain, site of a month-long uprising that was crushed last year, since the ruling Sunni dynasty in the Shiite-majority nation insisted on going ahead with the Grand Prix.

Last year's Bahrain event was cancelled in the wake of an uprising and the government crackdown that followed in which the Independent Commission of Inquiry said 35 people had been killed.

On Saturday the opposition reported the first death in protests timed to coincide with the 2012 Grand Prix.

The body of Salah Abbas Habib, 36, was found in Shakhura village after security forces "attacked peaceful protesters, brutally beating some of them with various tools and weapons," said Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's largest Shiite opposition bloc.

It charged that "security forces killed him one day before the final round of the F1 races hosted by Bahrain," without saying how he died.

The interior ministry confirmed that "the body of a deceased person was found in Shakhura" with "a wound to his left side."

It said police were investigating the death, which it being considered murder.

"The government condemns all acts of violence and will ensure the perpetrators of this crime, whoever they may be, will be brought to justice," the ministry quoted Public Security Chief Major General Tariq al-Hassan as saying.

bur/srm/har