Did Qatar Paid $1-B Ransom To Al-Qaeda To Free Royal Kidnap, Which Allegedly Caused Qatar Crisis?
Did the $1 billion ransom paid to al-Qaeda to free some members of the royal family 2 years ago caused the crisis in Qatar?
Qatar was allegedly paid up to $1 billion to Iranian and al-Qaeda-linked forces to the members of the Al Thani family who had been kidnapped by last December 16, 2015. The kidnapping takes place when jihadis was hunting in the Muthanna Pprovince in Southern Iraq.
The huge amount of cash paid to the kidnappers was used as a ransom to free 26 falcon hunters, wherein 11 of them were members of Al Thani family.
On April 2017, Qatar allegedly paid millions of dollars to Shiite Militias who also work closely with al-Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee Shiite power Iran, and Ahrar al-Sham. These groups were involved in the population transfers underway in Syria.
The ransom payments have been considered by the officials as a tipping point to Qatari-Gulf-Arab ties. The $1 billion ransom was allegedly triggered the decision of 7 countries to cut their ties with Qatar.
On Monday (June 05, 2017), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government, and Maldives cut their relations with the beleaguered nation.
However, Qatar denied the accusations despite the aggressive efforts to revenge against Sunni rebel groups fighting to oust the Syrian government, which is supported by Russia and Iran. The beleaguered nation also said that their neighbors have no legal basis for their accusations.
What can you say about the alleged $1 billion ransom paid by Qatar to al-Qaeda? Just feel free to leave your comments and reactions for this article.