Qatar may have paid $1 billion in ransom for release of royal family members captured while hunting with falcons
A ransom payment of up to $1 billion to Iranian and al-Qaeda-linked forces in Syria may have been the tipping point for Qatari-Gulf Arab relations, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Qatar paid out the hefty ransom to secure the release of 26 members of a falconry party, some of whom were members of Qatar's royal family, who had been hunting in southern Iraq, "commanders of militant groups and government officials in the region" told the Financial Times.
The news of Qatar's ransom comes after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and a powerful military leader in Libya all severed ties with Doha on Monday.
SPA, a Saudi state news agency, said that the kingdom cut ties because Qatar "embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," according to Reuters.
Google Maps
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain represent the most prominent of the Gulf Arab states and premier powers in the Sunni Islam world, which rivals Iran and their Shia influence in the Middle East.
Qatar and the other Gulf Arab states have sparred in the past over Qatar's softer stance on Iran and their support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization founded in Egypt, but a source told the Financial Times that "the ransom payments are the straw that broke the camel's back."
Read the full article at the Financial Times here.
NOW WATCH: Here's why the American flag is reversed on military uniforms
See Also:
A showdown could be looming between the US, Iran, and the Assad regime at the Syria-Iraq border
The US now has 2 aircraft carriers sitting off North Korea's coast
The US just shot down an ICBM — but if North Korea attacks it won't be that easy
SEE ALSO: Qataris are scrambling to stock up on money and food after Arab nations cut off ties with country