The situation concerning Qatari piracy of Persian…

The situation concerning Qatari piracy of Persian Gulf shipping has remained unsettled for decades until a dispute between the Bahraini Al Khalifahs, who continue to hold some claim to Az Zubarah, and the Qatari residents escalates into a major confrontation in 1867, when Bahrain arrests a Qatari Bedouin in the Qatari mainland and deports him to Bahrain.

In response, the Qataris, led by the Naim tribe, defeat the Bahraini army that is based on the peninsula, effectively expelling them.

These tensions lead Bahrain, allied with Abu Dhabi, to attack Qatar in October 1867.

The Bahraini Hakim Mohammed al Khalifa, sends his brother, Ali Al Khalifa, to command an army of two thousand men from Bahrain's ally, Abu Dhabi, to attack Qatar, sacking and looting Biddah (Doha) and Al Wakrah, in the course of which Biddah is virtually destroyed.