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World

The $1bn hostage deal that enraged Qatars Gulf rivals

Doha reportedly paid al-Qaeda ailiate and Iran oicials to win release of royal hunting party

Members of Iran-backed militia Kataeb Hizbollah, which kidnapped the Qataris in 2015, on parade in Baghdad Reuters

AN HOUR AGO by: Erika Solomon in Beirut

Qatarpaidupto$1bntoreleasemembersoftheGulfstatesroyalfamilywhowerekidnappedinIraqwhileona
huntingtrip,accordingtopeopleinvolvedinthehostagedealoneofthetriggersbehindGulfstatesdramatic
decisiontocuttieswithDoha.
CommandersofmilitantgroupsandgovernmentofficialsintheregiontoldtheFinancialTimesthatDohaspentthe
moneyinatransactionthatsecuredthereleaseof26membersofaQatarifalconrypartyinsouthernIraqandabout
50militantscapturedbyjihadisinSyria.Bytheirtelling,Qatarpaidofftwoofthemostfrequentlyblacklistedforcesof
theMiddleEastinonefellswoop:analQaedaaffiliatefightinginSyriaandIraniansecurityofficials.
Thedeal,whichwasconcludedinApril,heightenedconcernsamongQatarsneighboursaboutthesmallgasrich
statesroleinaregionplaguedbyconflictandbitterrivalries.AndonMonday,SaudiArabia,Egypt,theUnitedArab
EmiratesandBahraintooktheextraordinarystepofcuttingoffdiplomatictiesandtransportlinkstoQatar,alleging
thecountryfuelsextremismandterrorism.
Theransompaymentsarethestrawthatbrokethecamelsback,saidoneGulfobserver.
Dohadeniesitbacksterroristgroupsanddismissedtheblockadebyitsneighboursasfoundedonallegationsthat
havenobasisinfact.Itsaiditcouldnotimmediatelyrespondtoarequestforcommentonthehostagedeal.Buta
personclosetotheQatarigovernmentacknowledgedthatpaymentsweremade.Thepersonwasunawareofthe
amountsorwherethemoneywent.
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Qatar,aUSallythathostsanAmericanmilitarybase,haslongdrawntheireofitsneighbours,whoconsiderDoha
anirritatingregionalmaverick.Theworldstopexporterofliquefiednaturalgas,ithasuseditsimmensewealthto
courtrelationsfromLondontoWashingtonandTokyo.
Butcriticsaccuseitofseekingtopunchaboveitsweightdiplomatically,meddlinginregionalaffairsandusingthe
ArabicchannelofAlJazeera,thesatellitetelevisionnetworkitsetup,asapropagandatool.
Dohahasahistoryofreachingouttoallkindsofcontroversialgroups,fromrebelsinSudansDarfurregiontothe
TalibaninAfghanistanandHamasinGaza.Qatartoutsitselfasaneutralplayerthatcanactasanintermediaryin
regionalconflicts.Butitscritics,notablySaudiArabiaandtheUAE,allegeitalsousessuchinterventionstoplayboth
sidesandfundradicalIslamistgroups,mostrecentlyinLibyaandSyria.AndtoDohascritics,thehostagedealwas
furtherevidenceofthatrole.
IfyouwanttoknowhowQatarfundsjihadis,looknofurtherthanthehostagedeal,saidaSyrianoppositionfigure
whohasworkedwithanalQaedamediatoronhostageswapsinSyria.Andthisisntthefirstitisoneofaseries
sincethebeginningofthewar.
TheFTspoketopeopleinvolvedonbothsidesofthehostageswapdeal,includingtwogovernmentofficialsinthe
region,threeIraqiShiamilitialeadersandtwoSyrianoppositionfigures.
Around$700mwaspaidbothtoIranianfiguresandtheregionalShiamilitiastheysupport,accordingtoregional
governmentofficials.Theyaddedthat$200mto$300mwenttoIslamistgroupsinSyria,mostofthattoTahriral
Sham,agroupwithlinkstoalQaeda.
ThosewhospoketotheFTsaidthedealhighlightedhowQatarhasallegedlyusedhostagepaymentstobankroll
jihadisinSyria.ButtoitsGulfneighbours,thebiggestissueislikelytobethefactthatDohacouldhavepaidofftheir
mainregionalrival,Iran,whichtheyaccuseoffuellingconflictsintheArabworld.
ThisparticularsagabeganwhenanIranianbackedIraqiShiamilitia,knownasKataebHizbollah,kidnappedthe
QatarisinDecember2015.ThreeIraqimilitialeaderssaythehostageswereheldinIran.
KataebHizbollahisanIraqigroupbutitisseenashavinglinkswithIransmainregionalproxy,Hizbollah,the
Lebanesemilitantgroup.ThelatterishelpingIranbackBasharalAssad,theSyrianpresident,inhiscountryssixyear
conflict.
TworegionaldiplomatssaidtheybelievedoneoftheIraqigroupsmotivesforthekidnappingwastogiveHizbollah
andIranleveragetonegotiatethereleaseofShiafighterskidnappedbytheradicalSunnigroupTahriralShamin
Syria.
TahriralSham,inpreviousiterations,wasanalQaedabranch.Itclaimsithasbrokentheconnection,butthe
internationalcommunitystillviewsitasanaffiliate.
ThehostagetransactionwasalsolinkedtoaseparateagreementtofacilitatetheevacuationoffourtownsinSyria
twosurroundedbyjihadiforcesandtwobesiegedbyShiamilitiassaySyrianrebelsanddiplomats.
 OnewesterndiplomatsaidthearrangementprovidedQatarthecovertofinancethehostagedeal.IranandQatar
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hadlongbeenlookingforacovertodothis[hostage]deal,andtheyfinallyfoundit,hesaid.
Accordingtotwooppositionfigureswithclosecontactwiththegroupspaid,Qatarusedtheevacuationarrangement
topay$120$140mtoTahriralSham.Another$80m,theysaid,wenttotheIslamistgroupAhraralSham.
TheQatarispayanyoneandeveryone,towhatend?Theyhaveonlybroughtaboutourruin,saidaSyrianrebel
commander,whogavedetailsaboutthepaymentsbutaskednottobeidentified.
AregionalArabofficialsaidthetotalpaidtojihadigroupswascloserto$300m.
So,ifyouaddthatuptotheother$700mtheypaidtoIrananditsproxies,thatmeansQataractuallyspentabouta
billiondollarsonthiscrazydeal,hesaid.
TheIraqiShiamilitiacommandersinIraq,allfromhardlineIranianbackedgroups,saidthat,totheirknowledge,
Iranhadobtainedaround$400maftergivingthemapaymenttheywouldnotdisclose.Theyagreedtosharesome
detailsbecausetheywereunhappyabouttheirshareofthepayment.
They[theIranians]tookthelionsshare,saidamemberofoneoftheIranianbackedShiamilitiasinIraq.Thats
causedsomeofustobefrustrated,becausethatwasnotthedeal.
AnotherconfusingchapterofthedealisthatHaidaralAbadi,Iraqiprimeminister,saidinAprilhisgovernmenthad
seizedhundredsofmillionsofdollars,whichIraqiofficialssaidarrivedonQatariplanesillegally.Itisnotclearifthis
ismoneyispartofthesumsmentionedabove,oranadditionalamount.
Themoneyallcameinsuitcases,canyouimaginethis?saidoneseniorofficial.
AdditionalreportingbySimeonKerrinDubai

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