- published: 27 Oct 2014
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Senior officials from Qatar have strongly denied claims the country is supporting terrorist groups in Syria such as Islamic State. They told the BBC that Qatar had only provided support to moderate militants, in co-ordination with the CIA and other Western and Arab intelligence agencies. Strict financial controls had been put in place, they added. The comments come ahead of a visit to the UK this week by the Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Earlier this month a number of MPs were reported to have questioned the UK's closeness to Qatar, amid the claims of the links to IS funding. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says Qatar, a major investor in the UK through its sovereign wealth fund, has been stung by the allegations. 'Nothing to hide' In the past, wealthy individuals in the emirate are believed to have made donations and the government gave money and weapons to hardline Islamist groups in Syria. Doha is also believed to have links to the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate. But officials, including Qatar's director of Intelligence, told the BBC the country had nothing to hide over its support for groups in Syria fighting President Assad's regime. The BBC's Frank Gardner said the officials conceded that there had been constant shifts in allegiances in Syria's civil war and some people previously considered moderate had later joined hard line Islamist militias. They said since Qatar's intelligence agency had taken over responsibility for its Syria policy in 2012, the new financial controls had been brought in and a number of suspect financiers had been arrested. Since September, Qatar has been supporting the US-led military action against IS in Syria. The Al Udeid Air Base, a highly-classified US facility from which all attack and surveillance missions in the region are co-ordinated by US Central Command, is located in the emirate. For More Latest News Subscribe us: https://www.youtube.com/user/SuperLatestWorldNews TAGS abc breaking news, bbc, bbc football, bbc iplayer, bbc news, bbc news america, bbc persian, bbc sport, bbc weather, bbc world news, breaking celebrity news, breaking election news, breaking late news, breaking local news, breaking music news, breaking news, breaking news alerts, breaking news canada, breaking news headlines, breaking news in atlanta, breaking news in nigeria, breaking news india, breaking news pensacola florida, breaking news plane crash, breaking news story, breaking sports news, business expensive news home media world, christian world news, cnn, cnn breaking news, cnn money, cnn news, cnn news breaking news, cnn news world, detroit breaking news, global news, headline, headline news, health care technology news, hot latest global news, internet technology news, las vegas breaking news, latest breaking news, latest celebrity news, latest information technology news, latest music news, latest news, latest news headlines, latest news update, latest sports news, live breaking news, local breaking news, local news today, msn breaking news, nbc breaking news, nbc world news, news of the world, news report us world, news today news, news updated daily, solar technology news, sports news today, technology news, the latest news, today news, us news and world, us news and world report, us news and world report magazine, us news and world report web site, us news world report, world news, world news daily, world news headlines