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Gunman Shot in Attack on U.S. Base on Eve of WTO Talks in Qatar
DOHA, Nov 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A military guard shot dead a lone Qatari who opened fire at a major U.S. air base near the capital of the Gulf Arab emirate Wednesday, two days before a major WTO meeting here, the Qatari interior ministry announced.
"A Qatari national opened fire at 10:30 am [0730 GMT] at the Al-Adid air base and a guard fired back, killing the attacker on the spot," a ministry spokesman said, the official Qatari News Agency (QNA) reported.
"An inquiry has been launched to determine the motives of the attacker," he added.
The dead man was identified as Abdullah Mubarak al-Hajri.
The gunman pulled up in his car, stepped out and fired a Kalashinkov assault rifle at guards outside the base, public prosecutor General Abdullah Al-Mali said.
"It was an isolated act," he told the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Satellite channel.
The attack on the base, 20 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Doha, came ahead of Friday's opening of a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The base is the biggest used by the United States to stock munitions and material in the Gulf.
Asked if there were U.S. warplanes and munitions at the base, al-Mali said, "there are," but gave no further details, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Guards outside the base are supplied by Qatar, but security within the base is American. It was not clear if a Qatari or an American guard shot the attacker.
Organizers had considered moving the venue of the WTO meeting over security fears in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States and the war on nearby Afghanistan.
Trade ministers had considered moving the WTO meeting to Mexico City or Singapore, because of the risk of reprisals for the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan.
But WTO officials last week said they were determined to meet from November 9-13 in Doha, as planned.
The United States decided to limit the size of its WTO delegation in Qatar for security reasons, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said.
"I am trying to keep my staff as small as possible for their safety," the U.S. trade chief said.
The Washington Post reported that U.S. Congress members who would be in Doha had received classified security briefings amid concerns that terrorist cells were operating in the country.
A packet of supplies, including a gas mask and antibiotics, is to be given to each delegate - as well as a radio transmitter to be used in case of an emergency evacuation - according to the Post.
After the briefing, coupled with a warning Monday from the U.S. Justice Department about new terrorist threats, several members of Congress backed out of the trade meeting, which will try to launch a new round of global negotiations to lower trade barriers, AFP reported.
The WTO conference gathers some 4,500 people, including 2,000 government delegates, 700 journalists and representatives of 600 non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
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