DOHA, July 17. /TASS/. The armed forces of Qatar have intercepted missiles launched toward its territory, the Arab country’s defense ministry said.

"The Defense Ministry of Qatar announces that the armed forces have repelled a missile attack on the State of Qatar," it said in a statement.

A TASS correspondent reported earlier in the day that sounds of explosions, presumably caused by air defense systems engaging aerial targets, had been heard in the capital Doha. Shortly before that, the capital’s residents received air raid alerts on their mobile phones, sent by the country’s interior ministry.