However big a shock a recent suicide bombing in Doha was to the Qataris, it was far from unexpected in Western capitals, where intelligence agencies had discreetly put out a travel warning through their respective embassies. The emirate, a key ally in the Bush administration’s war on terror, has been high on the terrorist target list ever since it became home to the U.S. Central Command’s operational headquarters in early 2003. Just five days before the March 19 blast, which killed a British teacher and wounded 12 others, the State Department issued a general warning to all Americans travelling in the Gulf that “extremists may be planning to carry out attacks against Westerners and oil workers” in the region. What did surprise intelligence officials was the name of the group which claimed responsibility for the bombing: Jund al-Sham (“Soldiers of the Levant”).Full Story
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