By Alexis Akwagyiram BBC News

Some expats fear the bomb was first of many attacks

The apparent suicide bomb attack at a theatre in Qatar has prompted a mixed response from the country's British expat community.

The car bomb blast, which killed a British man and injured around 12 other people, happened at the Doha Players theatre outside the capital, Doha.

Qatar is home to around 5,000 Britons, and there is also a large American contingent.

A large proportion of the expat community are employed in the state's oil and gas industries.

Although it was the first attack of its kind in the Gulf Arab state, Al-Qaeda has threatened to target Westerners living in the region. Western embassies rank the threat from terrorism in Qatar as high.

Despite these ominous signs, freelance journalist Gina Coleman said she did not feel threatened.

Mrs Coleman, 56, who has lived in Qatar for 26 years, said: "I don't feel threatened and I certainly won't start walking around in fear.

The expat community is accepted here and until this attack occurred we believed that we would be safe Justin Waite Car bomb targets theatre

"I don't see this as the first in a series of attacks and I don't think it is some form of warning."

The journalist, who works for Qatar Radio and a number of local newspapers, said the US had put out frequent warnings to its nationals not to gather in big groups or go to crowded places.

But she said the majority of western expats considered such advice to be overly cautious.

She also stressed that, despite fears of anger being directed at Westerners as a consequence of the conflict in Iraq, neither she nor friends and relatives have experienced any hostility or animosity towards them.

People are, she said, "against the war but not against individual Britons and Americans", although the use of Qatar to host the United States military's Central Command has caused a general feeling of resentment.

But not everyone shares Mrs Coleman's reaction to the attack on a theatre that was filled with expats.

The warnings we have heard in recent months have made me more cautious and aware about my surroundings Shanthi Adiyat

Justin Waite, is completing his A-levels at a school in Doha, near to where the blast occurred.

The 17-year-old, who has lived in Qatar for the last four years, agreed that westerners generally felt they were not targets.

He said: "The expat community is accepted here and until this attack occurred we believed that we would be safe."

Attack fears

But he added: "Of course I'm worried that similar attacks might take place."

Saturday's blast occurred at a theatre opposite the Doha English Speaking school in the Khalifa district, a few kilometres from the city centre.

Mr Waite said he feared busy shopping centres or one of the region's many international schools could be targeted.

"Ordinary experiences, such as going shopping or going out at the weekend with friends, won't be the same," he said.

The bomb killed a British man and injured around 12 other people

"We'll always feel that we might be going somewhere that might be blown up next."

His sentiments were echoed by Shanthi Adiyat, who attended a play at the Doha Players theatre on Thursday and was at the adjacent Doha English speaking school when the blast took place.

She said: "We are very thankful that we were not caught up in the attack.

"At the performance we attended, around half of the audience were school children, so it could have been much worse. The theatre is usually busier than it was on Saturday."

Ms Adiyat, 39, said she was "not surprised" that the attack had taken place as she and her family had felt for some time that it was "a question of when, not if, something was going to happen".

But, despite this sense of expectation, she said it was still a shock when the attack unfolded.

Heightened security

She said American friends were warned by the US embassy that an attack on an international school was feared and an American school in Doha had, as a consequence, heightened its security in recent weeks.

Ms Adiyat, who has lived in Qatar for 15 years, said she has increasingly become particularly wary of crowded events which are attended by the expat community.

"The warnings we have heard in recent months have made me more cautious and aware about my surroundings, as well as the whereabouts of my daughter and partner.

"I hope there aren't further attacks but only time will tell."