Students at Northwestern University's Doha, Qatar campus ordered to shelter in place amid Iranian strikes
A United States base was attacked by Iranian missiles on Monday, with 19 missiles fired at the base, and one was hit.
The move comes just two days after the U.S. military bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. However, no casualties were reported.
Thousands of U.S. troops in the Middle East were ordered to shelter in place, and they're not the only ones.
Multiple people associated with Northwestern University's Doha, Qatar campus were also held up for hours.
Video taken in the country of Qatar shows the interception of Iranian missiles, with rumbling and flashes of light in the sky, said to be headed toward an American air base outside Doha.
A U.S. defense official told CBS News the strike did not cause any injuries.
The attack was more or less expected, according to DePaul history professor and terrorism expert Tom Mockaitis.
"It was a virtual certainty that the Iranians would strike us as soon as they could, and wherever they could do so, and the bases in the Middle East were, of course, the most likely targets because they're nearby," he said.
Texts from Northwestern University in Qatar started hours before the missiles began firing, alerting students to go to their homes.
"That's when I kind of started getting anxious. Because that's when I realized that this is something serious. It's not a drill," student Yamna Abdi Jama said.
Jama lives on campus, about 35 minutes from the air base that was targeted.
"Everything was shaking, the windows were shaking, and the noise just kept coming. You would think that it would. It was gonna die down at some point. And then, when you thought it was okay, there was more coming in," Jama said.
Recent graduate Maiara Lohmann received the alerts and has been sheltering in place in her apartment, about 30 miles from the U.S. base that was targeted.
"I was very sure in the last couple of days that it's gonna happen. So, when that came out, I was like, yep, it's definitely happening. So I went straight home," Lohmann said.
She described what it was like when the strike began.
"It almost sounds like fireworks, because you just start hearing the loud noises, and then you're told not to go near windows, because it's more dangerous. So, you're just staying inside and hearing all the noise and everything."
Northwestern Media Relations confirmed everyone on the Doha campus is safe.
Should there be worry amid the attacks?
"The average individual doesn't need to lose sleep over this," Mockaitis said.
Note that he was talking about most Americans, excluding those with loved ones serving overseas.
About 45,000 U.S. military members are stationed in the Middle East.
The shelter in place order has since been lifted.
President Donald Trump responded to the Iranian attack on Truth Social, calling it "a very weak response."
In that same post, he said hardly any damage was done and thanked Iran for "giving early notice," so no lives were lost.
