West Asia conflict: Explosions heard in Doha after key areas evacuated

Doha, Blasts were heard in Doha early Saturday, according to AFP journalists, after Qatar's interior ministry said it was evacuating some key areas.

Interceptors were seen over the Qatari capital's downtown area downing two projectiles, an AFP journalist said, as Iran presses its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf states.

The Gulf state's defence ministry said its military had "intercepted missile attack which targeted State of Qatar".


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Earlier, the interior ministry said in a statement it was "evacuating several key areas as a temporary precautionary measure, within the framework of ensuring public safety until the danger has passed".

In Doha's central Musheireb district some residents received phone alerts telling them to "evacuate the area immediately... to the nearest safest place as a temporary precaution".

Scores of residents and some hotel guests in Musheireb were rushed into underground car parks for shelter, an AFP journalist saw.

Law enforcement were out on the streets and some areas were cordoned off in Musheireb, which hosts a country office for US tech giant Google and the US payments firm American Express.

In Lusail, north of Doha, police were also stationed at the entrance of the Qatar headquarters for US technology firm Microsoft.

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Iran's military said on Wednesday it would launch strikes against US and Israeli economic interests in the region, including banks while an Iranian news agency listed tech giants as possible "future targets".

In the al-Gharafa area to the west of Doha, in the vicinity of the US embassy, some residents also received evacuation messages.

Authorities had already vacated buildings around the American mission in Doha on 5 March after US embassies across the region were tageted by Iran.

The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war, with Tehran targeting US assets but also civilian infrastructure.