Car bomb in Doha kills one

[OmanAir]

And 12 more wounded.

BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4365039.stm)

My condolences to all friends and families involved.

Any thoughts on how this will affect the industry in general, and QR in particular?

[Hajj Man]

It happened at 9 pm last night outside of the Doha Players Theatre close to Doha English Speaking School (DESS) There was a performance of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" going on at the time.

About 100 people were attending the performance and they had just finished the intermission when the car bomb exploded. They say that if the bomb had gone off a few minutes earlier then it would have killed and injured more people as the area where it exploded was the West End Hall of the theatre and this is where the coffee and tea stand was set up for the intermission. The bomb completely demolished the West End.

One Expat was Quoted in the news paper as saying " this is going to change expat life in Doha forever. Of Course, Doha Players is finished. Nobody will ever go back there."

The explosion killed one and injured 12 others. Most of the injured were a team of people in a box controlling the lighting for the play. A lot of flying glass was most of the injuries.

I have gotten most of this information from the local news paper in Doha as well as text messages from friends. I am only letting those readers who are concerned about family and friends in Doha know what is in the paper so that you will not go off crazy on rumours.

It is tradject but this is life in the gulf region these days and has been this way for a long time.

How is it going to affect QR and life here? Well I would think some expats will leave, some will not want to come, and it might have a small impact on the hiring of QUALITY, educated people to come and work for QR but all in all the airline will still go on and the cockpit,cabin,hangar, and check-in counters will all be staffed with people from the regular countries that QR seek to get their staff to come from that will put up with all kinds of work conditions just for a $$. All in All little to no impact i would say but I have been wrong before many times.

HM
:ok:

[popay]

Well folks very sad to hear about it. My condolences as well to all the people, who are affected. Don’t even know what to say………….
I guess people will need time, couple of days until they realize, how this is going to affect there life in here. The main concern is the safety of my family while I am flying. I am not sure if the necessary security will be there. I will have to think once more, what to do.
One thing is for sure, from now on my cockpit door is closed. Not sure if QR couldn’t be used as a weapon, especially if we want to start to fly to USA. I don’t care about all this crazy politics, but probably will be affected by that.
You guys make sure your kids are safe.
Cheers.

[twieke]

Hi,

Some UAE newspapers say that the cause has not been determined yet and that it could have been a gas explosion in a kitchen of a restaurant nearby.

Wonder what comes out of this.

Rgds.

[Hostie from Hell]

Sad news indeed.

My condolences to all of those involved:sad:

[BYMONEK]

By the time the UAE newspapers went to print then they wouldn't have all the facts. Sky news are reporting confirmation from the Gov't in Qatar that it was a bomb. Egyption suicide bomber from what they're saying.
Speedy recovery to those injured and my condolence to the family of the British man murdered.

[Hajj Man]

Popay,
You don't read your memos? YOUR COCKPIT DOOR SHOULD BE CLOSED AND LOCKED ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is not something that you should now consider doing. You are probably under the idea that " it will not happen to me syndrome?"

Anyhow,
the British guy and his family that live next door to me have said that they heard it was an Egyptian Suicide bomber that was flown into Qatar on Saturday morning, the same day as the bombing and drove his vehicle and himself to the Theatre area that night and did the job. This would indicate to me that all was set up and that he was just flown in at the last minute to do the job.Also all the 12 injured except two were released from hospital last night but 2 still remain in serious condition at the hospital.

All of this is rumour and I am not sure it is true as I don't want to start rumours. All of it except the part about the memo at Qatar Airways that says the cockpit door is to be kept locked at all times. only cabin crew are allowed into the cockpit or flight deck. Popay you really need to sharpen up a bit son.!

Also I wish everyone well and as Popay said, keep safe you and your family. Keep safe Popay, this is from my heart.

HM:ok:

[popay]

Dear Hajj Man,
Thanks for your wishes the same back to you. I do read the memos; believe me, but reading the memos and actually following them it’s a bit difficult for some of guys at QR. And since I don’t ware 4 stripes I find my self too often with the door leaned and not locked. I don’t want to discuss obvious things again and again and again with people in the left seat. For me it’s a matter of discipline, but not all the people have the same attitude. That’s why I have said from now on no more open or leaned or whatsoever, just only locked. I see you are still angry with me, so here my apology, if I was wrong. It is very sad that this small friendly piece of paradise had to be demoralized like that.
Hajj Man, I agree with you about the possible impact on QR.
Cheers.

[homesick rae]

Very sad news indeed. Condolences to Mr. Adams' family.

For sure it will change the expats outlook on life in Doha, but I also believe that it may well be a one off attack. I certainly hope so.

Doha will always have a special place in my heart as it is a place that I first visited in 1983, continued to do so and ended up working there for several years.

I have witnessed the changes and I hope that the Qatari people and expats alike will lift up their heads and strive on.

All of you in Doha, be cautious.

Keep safe.

Cheers

HR

[Hajj Man]

Popay,

When it comes to safety you need to speak up and not be pushed around son. I have to agree that it is not easy being a first officer and put up with all the different ways that captains conduct their cockpits and do their little ways of flying but you need to always think safety first.

Being a first officer is one of the hardest jobs I have ever done and I have to tell you that I don't always have the correct or political way of telling the other pilot right from wrong but try to work on your delivery to your captain and be diplomatic at first and then try another angle but the end result is SAFETY and if he or she does not realize that you are trying to say or do something in the interest of safety then he or she aint that good.

Good luck and no hard feelings.

HM:ok:

[popay]

Dear Hajj Man,
Thanks for your advice it’s certainly a good one. A diplomatic way or the other angle, could be a possible solution, but doesn’t guarantee reaching the goal. One of the reasons poor english understanding. I think it would be a good idea to implement a safety relevant “key words” like “I don’t feel comfortable doing this”.
Having said that it’s a trigger for the other guy, we are getting in to a safety relevant stage now, and so I need to listen to my college. Simple because we are all different and the way we think is different, that might end up in misunderstanding each other or even taking the issue personal, which is worst case scenario. I have experienced that practice in the other airline and I can tell you, when ever somebody has announced the key words, the attention was there and people started to listen and to talk to each other, which is the key to success.
It’s just an idea.
Cheers.

[SiClick]

To get back to the main point of the thread!!!

Condolances to all involved, and I hope the fallout from this does not change Qatar, which has for a long time been the safest and friendliest place I have worked, and a Jewel in the Middle East.

[Hajj Man]

SiClick,

I would have to agree with you on the SAFEST place I have worked but I am not so sure I can say it is the FRIENDLIEST place I have worked, infact I think it is the opposite.

Yes I do have some great friends here and we have a good time when we get together but I might have to say that Friendliest place is not Qatar. Sorry

Anyhow back to the post; All seems to be quiet here in Doha today after the bombing but I will wait for tomorrows news paper and update those readers out of Doha as to what the new findings are on the mishap that happened last night.

good night for now.

HM:ok:

[Engineer]

Sad to see that this form of protest is starting to spread out of Saudia.

Wonder how long it will take to filter down to the UAE?

[BYMONEK]

Nothing to say that it couldn't reach any part of the world but it doesn't help for those countries that use their soil to base US troops on. UAE, as far as i'm aware, doesn't.

[Hajj Man]

It seems that the news paper has said it was a bomd and the bomber was an Egyptian man who lived in Doha for the past 15 years. He was a 38 year old man, a computer programmer at Qatar Petroleum and had a wife and 3 kids. he owned a black Toyota Land Cruiser.

the Shakespeare play had started an hour early that night so that the viewers could get home early as Sunday morning was the first day of work and the director of the event thought it would be good to let them get home earlier. Had it of been on time the bomb explosion would of hit right at the intermission time and hurt or killed many more people.

The man that lost his life was the director of the play who was a Briton. He had gone out of the control room to investigate a noise from the outside and this is when the bomb went off and apparently blew him back into the Theatre.

All of this has come from the local news paper so I am just writing it as I read and understood it. My condolences go out to Mr. Adams family and it really is sad that this safe country of Qatar has had this ISOLATED incident happen to it.

I still feel safe living here in Qatar and don't think that this is going to send me off packing to go and look for another country to live in. Every country has its share of crime,bombs,rape,killing, drugs and theft but just look around and see there is no place that is safe in the world today. Qatar to me is so far shown that it has a good record when it comes to all of the above I just mentioned.

Keep safe

HM:ok:

[billy34-kit]

......during the shopping festival in Dubai,....they haved found two bomb in Deira city mall!!!! It was a the newspaper lately.

[popay]

Yea, well I don’t think people will start packing in panic and leave, but I think they expect a good information campaign on investigation and security issue. This isn’t a simple criminal act, there is an organization, planning and logistic issues, which have to be taken care of. How did he get the explosive? Why did he chosen the theatre and didn’t attack city centre? Is this just a protest against foreign politic of Qatar, or was that an act of an individual, or maybe an act, which should compromise the existing political structure? If there is an organization beyond this attack, if yes, what is there political target? Answers to those questions will be a possible factor; the decisions will be made on. I have to ask my self: is that safe to bring my kids to a British school or any other western school, giving my kid proper education?
The other thing, which makes me very curious, the man, had a family and 3 kids, was well educated. A very unusual candidate for a suicide. There must have been something, which leaded him to this decision: kill himself and the people and leave the family behind. He must have thought about what is going to happen to his family afterwards? They will be for sure deported to Egypt and suffer from this. So if somebody kills him self and puts his family in trouble he must have made sure, they wont suffer from his absence. In simple words he must have been paid for that. He might have become a victim of his current employment or financial situation, or maybe he did it because he was convinced. More important is, who has chosen him. If that’s so, well than it’s not just a simple crime.

I don’t know the answer yet. It’s important to know for me what the government is going to do about it. How are they going to improve our security? The company should think about it too.

I really hope Hajj Man you are right, I honestly do, but I have to follow the rule: don’t underestimate your enemy and don’t overestimate your government, which in this case isn’t my, but the responsible one.
Cheers.
UNCONFIRMED CLAIM

The group, calling itself Jund al-Sham Organisation, (Organisation of Soldiers of the Levant or greater Syria, referring to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine), said in the statement that it would soon issue another release about "the martyrdom-seeking operation carried out by a lion from Jund al-Sham in Qatar".

There was no way to verify the authenticity of the statement, signed by the group's "military wing".http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/250544E4-C6BC-404B-8E35-553E188D58C3.htm

[FFFlyer]

''The other thing, which makes me very curious, the man, had a family and was well educated. A very unusual candidate for a suicide.''

Not really. As were most of the 9/11 hijackers, in fact Western educated. As is Bin Liner. As is Zarqawi.

More important, where did the explosives come from? The Land Cruiser was pretty well loaded by the look of the blast. Who fitted them and the dets? I assume it was a local 4WD so it was done locally, and quite expertly. Those individuals are still out there, possilby with more.

[popay]

FFFlyer, can’t say for the time being how professional the assault was organized, but I am sure we will know more after the French experts file there report. For my understanding to convince a well educated mature men, who has a family and is responsible for the future of his 3 kids, requires a lot of brain washing activities and time. Who fitted them with Distributed Explosive Technology? Well same people, who brained washed him. All this could mean there are links to some of the existing terror groups. If it’s so I would start to review more the files of people employed in very sensible industry, like aviation. No guarantee, that tomorrow some of the recruited or existing members of those possible organizations will not place a bomb on board of one of the QR’s planes. I might overdue it now, but if it’s a real political thing, than it’s absolutely necessary to rethink the security issue in Qatar in terms of improvement. We are lucky they didn’t attack a hotel or tourists crowded place, which would have a huge international resonance and for sure affect aviation and tourism in the region. Sorry, might sound macabre for the victims of the assault, my apology for that. All in once I have the feeling we are heading towards not necessarily quite and peaceful times in the ME and unfortunately Mr. Bush only aggravates the situation with his plans “spreading the democracy in the ME”. Its, by the way, not even his idea, but one of Mr. Wolfowitz.
Cheers.

[popay]

Just an update on what’s going on in Qatar Doha. I unfortunately couldn’t participate, but I wish all the best and success the Qatar government in improving the security and making Doha a safe place.
Cheers.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/91108BCC-4E41-4126-B4DB-0CA9648C8DED.htm

[FlyingCroc]

I agree with your comments concerning the suicide bomber, he does not fit the classical type like in Israel, Iraq or Chechnya. That's why it is so important to find out the facts as quick as possible. Is it an organized terroract or just a crime of a crazed loner? Is Qatar the target or is the UAE next to destabilize the Gulf states. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are allready quite unsafe for expats, but they usually use gunmen and bombs and not suicide bombers.

[OmanAir]

--->The Criminal Court in Muscat yesterday issued its verdict in a case involving the attempted murder of British citizens Peter James xxxxx and A xxxxxxx, who were targeted in separate attacks. The court found the accused, Mohammed bin Ahmed al Harthy, guilty and sentenced him to jail for life, the Royal Oman Police said in a press statement. The court also awarded compensation to the tune of RO 10,000 to be paid to xxxxx, and a sum of RO 8,000 to xxxxxxx. Further, it ordered the confiscation of the weapon found in the possession of the accused. Both attacks, which took place in Muscat Governorate, were investigated by the ROP who eventually arrested Al Harthy. The accused confessed to having attempted to kill the Britons, the press statement said.<---

Unrelated to the case above; We did have some crazy rumours about terrorists trying to bomb Muscat Festival this year. It has since boiled down to a number of Omanis arrested for "anti Omani activity".

The Qatar bombing came as a shock since it happened in one of the, shall we say safe?, countries in ME.
While UAE do not have any US bases, it still must be a real torn in the eyes of the extremists. I think Dubail will suffer greatly as a tourist destination and stop over point should they attack there.
Will the attack in Qatar affect QR bookings?

Since all information is tightly controlled, it's difficult to know whats really going on.
One of the shootings above was for a long time classified as a hunting accident by the ROP. Only now have they released the facts.

[Skyg]

Hi Guys,

Regarding to this sad event, I'd like to quote that in the days after the attack, some important newspapers of the gulf area like Kaleej Times, dismissed the subject as a Front Page issue...

Only a secondary Headline was there..., but in the other hand it was on the Main News of BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN and ABC...

So I understand something is wrong there...

See you guys,



:suspect:

[superman_32]

The British embassy has identified the expatriate who was killed in Saturday's car bomb in Doha as Jonathan Adams, and Qatari officials revealed that the attacker was an Egyptian engineer.



No further details about the victim were released. "We do not have personal information," Muhammad Shawkat, a spokesman at the embassy told Aljazeera.net.

Earlier on Sunday, the Qatari Interior Ministry said an Egyptian named Umar Ahmad Abd Allah Ali carried out the car bomb attack at the Doha Players theatre on Saturday night.

Ali, an information and communications technology engineer for Qatar Petroleum, had not been heard of since he left his home on Saturday morning. He was married with children.

The blast that killed Adams and the bomber also wounded 12 people of different nationalities, including Qataris, other Arabs and Asians, the Interior Ministry said.

The blast occurred about 9.15pm outside the theatre in the Qatari capital where a play was being performed.

Investigation on

On Sunday morning, police were investigating the bomb site and the theatre and surrounding areas were cordoned off, preventing an Aljazeera.net reporter from entering.


The Qatari Interior Ministry said
Ali attacked the theatre


The blast damaged a number of houses and cars nearby. Windows were shattered and glass could be seen scattered throughout the road in front of the Doha English Speaking School, a British school across from the theatre.

The private school and a number of others catering to expatriate children cancelled classes on Sunday.

Residents near the theatre reported hearing a powerful explosion on Saturday night.

"I was sitting in the TV room along with my kids and my grandchildren and our maids when the blast occurred at around 9pm," Aisha Ibrahim, who lives in a villa about 50m from the blast, told Aljazeera.net.

"The windows got shattered and glass flew all over the place. We were terrified.

"Some of my younger kids were sleeping in their rooms when the blast happened. The shattered glass flew right inside their quarters, so we rushed and pulled them out," she said. "At first, we thought it was an electrical explosion.

"The windows got shattered and glass flew all over the place. We were terrified... Every window fell, even the front door gate was damaged from the ferocity of the blast"

Aisha Ibrahim, who lives in a villa 50m from the blast site

"Every window fell, even the front door gate was damaged from the ferocity of the blast," Ibrahim said.

Speaking to Aljazeera, Brigadier-General Ahmad al-Hayki of the Qatari police said the Interior Ministry was investigating the attack.

"The blast did not target the US embassy or any other foreign embassy.

"Security forces have controlled the situation and an investigation is under way to disclose the truth," he said.


French team

President Jacques Chirac dispatched a team of French criminal investigators to Doha on Sunday at the request of Qatari authorities.

In a letter to the Amir of Qatar, Chirac condemned the "vile terrorist attack".

"France stands beside Qatar in this difficult time," Chirac said in the letter sent to the leader of the tiny Gulf nation, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. A copy of the letter was released by the president's office.

"Your country showed its confidence in France by asking us to urgently send a mission of experts in criminal investigation and explosives. I inform you that this mission left this morning for Doha," Chirac said.