Posted on 03/20/2005 7:29:04 PM PST by blam
Al-Qa'eda linked to bombing in Qatar
By Oliver Poole in Qatar
(Filed: 21/03/2005)
Authorities in Qatar were last night investigating whether al-Qa'eda was responsible for the suicide-bomb attack which killed a British expatriate at a theatre staging a Shakespeare play in the oil-rich Gulf state.
Anti-terrorism experts from the Metropolitan Police will fly out this week to assist in the investigation.
As Jon Adams approached the car, the driver detonated explosives
The bombing, near the capital Doha on Saturday, came on the eve of the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Qatar is home to the US Central Command, which was the operational base for the war, but the tiny country had not suffered any other major attack on Western targets.
The Briton who died was named by the Foreign Office as Jon Adams, an English teacher at a school next to the theatre. He had directed the production of Twelfth Night that was under way as the bomber, an Egyptian computer programmer, struck.
As the audience watched the second half of the play, Mr Adams left the auditorium to investigate the sound of a car engine outside being repeatedly revved. The driver of the car was trying to get as close to the theatre as possible.
As Mr Adams approached, the driver detonated explosives. The blast, which injured 12 other people including another Briton, threw Mr Adams back into the hall of the theatre where his wife, Rosemary, was among the first to reach him.
Saleh al-Aoofi, a senior al-Qa'eda terrorist on the run after a series of terror incidents in Saudi Arabia, made a call last week for attacks in Qatar and the region.
A Western diplomat in the region said that the tactics used by the bomber, named as Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, bore the hallmarks of al-Qa'eda.
Mr Adams, who had taught English at the Qatar Academy for a year, was a keen member of the Doha Players, the amateur drama group responsible for the play.
A member of the company said that a decision made that day to move the time of the play forward by an hour for the benefit of people working the following morning had prevented the number of casualties being far greater.
All 70 members of the audience and the 30-strong cast were in the building when the bomb went off, except for Mr Adams.
Chris Evans, 59, a member of the cast, said: "There was a massive explosion and plaster was flying everywhere. One guy was very badly injured and three or four people were ministering to him.
"I couldn't tell who it was at first but Jon's wife Rosemary was frantically looking for him and it turned out to be him. He was a very nice guy."
OBL's request fulfilled?
Isn't Al Jazeerra headquartered there? How rude!
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