Qatar Shares Footage Of Damage At $1 Billion Radar, Air Base, And Energy Sites After Iranian Strikes

File image.

Al Jazeera has for the first time aired footage revealing the extensive damage caused by Iranian missile and drone strikes against Qatar.

The footage was aired on April 10 as a part of the Qatari news channel’s “The Hidden Is More Immense” investigative series.

Just hours after the start of the American-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, the Islamic Republic began launching strikes against Qatar and other Gulf states, accusing them of hosting United States troops and facilitating operations against its territories. Doha has repeatedly refused these accusations.

The strikes dealt some serious damage to Qatar. Al Jazeera’s footage revealed that the American-made AN/FPS-132 radar situated near Al Khor in the north of the country was very much destroyed. Previously, it was reported that the radar, worth upwards of $1,1 billion, was hit once, but the footage showed multiple impacts from different directions.

The high-power, solid-state phased-array radar is used for long-range early warning of ballistic missile attacks and space surveillance. It has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers. The radar is owned and operated by the Qatar Emiri Air Force, but is believed to support U.S. military operations in the region.

Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab/Al Jazeera)

Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab/Al Jazeera)

Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab/Al Jazeera)

Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab/Al Jazeera)

The footage aired by Al Jazeera also revealed that Al Udeid Air Base, located close to Donha, took some serious damage as a result of Iranian strikes.

The air base does not just host thousands of U.S. troops, but also serves as the forward headquarters of the Central Command. It’s worth noting that it was reported even before the start of the war that the base was largely evacuated by the Americans.

In addition, footage showing several strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City located in northern Qatar. The city includes the world’s largest liquid natural gas (LNG) export hub, processing and exporting massive amounts of gas from the North Field to global markets.

The Iranian strikes on the city forced the state-owned QatarEnergy to declare force majeure, temporarily halting the export of LNG.

According to Al Jazeera, Iran launched 210 ballistic missiles, 14 cruise missiles and 310 suicide drones at Qatar during more than a month of fighting.

Major General Shayegh Mesfer al-Hajri, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces, told the news channel that 90% of all missiles and drones were intercepted.

Al Jazeera also shared footage showing the wreckage of one of two Su-24 fighter bombers of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force that Qatar claimed to have shot down on March 2, just three days into the war. This was the only such aerial operation by the Islamic Republic.

Before the start of the war, Qatar was viewed as one of the closest Gulf states to Iran. It even played a key role in efforts to de-escalate between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. This is no longer the situation, however. Doha was not even involved in the ceasefire brokered on April 7 by Pakistan.

Relations between the two countries will likely resume after the war, but with Doha demanding compensation, the process may not be very straightforward.

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