One of the most placid Gulf states received an unexpected shock on 19 March when a car bomb exploded outside the Doha Players Theatre during a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. One British national, Jonathan Adams, was killed and at least 12 others were injured in the blast.

The apparent suicide bomber has been identified by the Interior Ministry as Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, a 38-year-old computer programmer from Egypt who had been working in Doha since 1990, most recently for Qatar Petroleum (QP). A colleague at QP told local media that the police had seized the bomb suspect's computer and work equipment.

Jund al-Sham Organisation (Organisation of Soldiers of the Levant), a previously unknown militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Al-Qaeda network is also strongly suspected of involvement.

The blast came on the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, two days after Al-Qaeda's declared leader in the Arabian Peninsula, Saleh al-Oufi, used an Islamist website to urge attacks on 'crusaders' living in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. The country is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command. Some 4,500 UK nationals live in Qatar, according to the British embassy, while about 30,000 visit every year.