Iranian missile causes 'extensive damage' at Qatar's Ras Laffan

LONDON, United Kingdom - Qatar said on Wednesday that it had successfully intercepted four out of five ballistic missiles launched from Iran, while the fifth hit Ras Laffan Industrial City and caused "extensive damage."

Ras Laffan is where the core of QatarEnergy’s LNG processing takes place. The state oil giant had earlier evacuated Ras Laffan LNG installations, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, following Iran's threat to attack Gulf energy facilities.

Iran issued an evacuation warning for several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, saying they would be targeted by strikes "in the coming hours," Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

Qatar has declared the security and military attache in Iran's embassy as "persona non grata", asking them to leave the country within a period of maximum 24 hours, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Doha attributed the decision to Iran's repeated attacks on the country, the latest of which targeted Qatar's Rass Laffan industrial city. — Reuters