Qatar holds largest military parade in its history for National Day

Qatar has held the largest military parade in the history of the country to celebrate its National Day, The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported.

The parade in the capital Doha on Tuesday was attended by the Qatari Emir Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other top officials.

The national celebration was the second to take place since a Saudi-led bloc of countries began a diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar in June 2017.

The event on the Doha Corniche showed off the latest weaponry including Patriot missiles and surface-to-air missile defence system.

The annual celebrations on 18 December mark the founding of the Qatari state in 1878.

Saudi Arabia, along with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and fostering close ties with their regional rival Iran - charges Doha denies.

Al-Jazeera reported this week that Qatar was almost subject to a military takeover just over a decade ago by the Arab states currently blockading it.