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| Arabia |
| Bahrain condemns Qatar boom, UK to send investigators |
| 2005-03-21 |
| Bahrain's Cabinet yesterday strongly condemned the terrorist car bomb attack in Doha. Ministers expressed "total denunciation of all terror acts that conflict with the principles of Islam and human values," wishing the injured a quick recovery and offering condolences to victims' families. The Cabinet, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Islamic Affairs Minister Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa, also affirmed Bahrain's support towards all measures taken by Qatar to protect its stability and the integrity of its territories. It expressed confidence in the capability of Qatar to confront what it dubbed as acts alien to the peaceful and tolerant Qatari society, wishing the state further progress and safety under the leadership of the Amir, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The GCC and its other member states also condemned the blast and called for unity to eradicate "terrorism". The condemnation came as Qatar's interior ministry said an Egyptian carried out the car bomb attack on a theatre that killed one Briton. It identified the bomber as Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, and said he owned the car used to carry out the attack on the Doha Players Theatre in the northern Farek Kelab suburb. Twelve others, including six Qataris, a Briton, Eritrean and Somali, were injured in the blast and later released from hospital, officials said. The ministry said the explosion was carried out by Ali who detonated his car bomb from behind a brick wall close to the theatre, which is located in a compound. The blast set alight wooden buildings in the compound, while the main theatre building suffered slight damage. Al Qaeda's leader in the Gulf urged militants this week to attack Westerners in Qatar and several other countries. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack on the theatre, which is popular with Westerners and close to the Doha English Speaking School. The British Foreign Office confirmed a British citizen had died and said British authorities were assisting Qatar in the bombing investigation. French President Jacques Chirac also sent a team of experts to help with the investigation. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |