Six people, including four Pakistanis, were killed and around 30 injured in a shooting near a Shia mosque in Oman’s capital Muscat, officials said on Tuesday, in a rare attack in the country claimed by the Islamic State.
Monday’s attack on the mosque came as Shiites this week observe Ashura, an annual day of mourning commemorating the seventh-century battle death of Imam Hussein, whom the Shiite sect regards as the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed.
“The Royal Oman Police has responded to a shooting incident around a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area of the capital,” a police statement said.
It said the three gunmen behind the attack had been killed and that police officers had “finished dealing with the gunfight.”
The force said six people had died, including a police officer. It said 28 people “from various nationalities” were injured, including rescue workers and paramedics.
The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying three of its fighters were behind the shooting, which targeted Shiites “observing their annual rituals” to mark the holy mourning period of Ashura.
The group’s propaganda channel Aamaq said on its Telegram channels that IS fighters “fired machine guns at Shia pilgrims” before clashing with Omani security forces.
The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said that “at least four Pakistanis were martyred in the firing that took place in the brutal terrorist attack on Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque.”
It said 30 other Pakistanis were injured.
The Indian Embassy in Oman said on the social media platform X that one Indian was killed and another was injured.
Footage verified by AFP showed people running from the Imam Ali mosque, its minaret visible, amid the sound of gunfire.
A voice is heard saying “O God” and repeating “O Hussein”.
Speaking to AFP, Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman, Imran Ali, said the Shia mosque is mostly visited by South Asian expatriates. He said at least 400,000 Pakistanis live in Oman.
– ‘Terrorist attack’ –
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened by the terrorist attack”.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Sultanate of Oman and offers full assistance in the investigation,” he said in a statement on X.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani condemned the shooting, calling it a “divisive” act.
The Pakistani ambassador said the attack began with firing from a building near the mosque when hundreds of people had gathered for prayers.
Ali told AFP that the pilgrims were taken hostage by militants but were later freed by the Omani army.
He said little was known about the perpetrators or their possible motive.
He said “everyone is quiet about this”, adding that the attack had created a “difficult situation”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ali visited hospitals where the injured were being treated.
In a video message on X, he urged Pakistanis living in Oman to cooperate with the authorities and avoid going to the area around the mosque.
“Our officers are on standby to provide emergency blood donation at the embassy,” he said, adding that a hotline had been set up to assist the injured and their relatives.
The US Embassy in Muscat issued a security alert after the shooting and cancelled all visa appointments for Tuesday.
“US citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news, and follow instructions from local authorities,” the post read.
– Investigation ongoing –
Police said that following the attack “all necessary safety measures and procedures have been taken to handle the situation.”
“Officers are continuing to collect evidence and investigate to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said on X.
An AFP photographer said the area was cordoned off on Tuesday and journalists could not access the mosque.
Oman has a population of over four million, more than 40 percent of whom are migrant workers, the majority of them from South Asia, according to government figures.
Shiites are a minority among Oman’s Muslim majority population. Most Omanis follow Sunni or Ibadi religion.
There have been several attacks on Shia mosques in the Gulf region in recent years, but this was the first in Oman.
At least 27 worshippers were killed and over 200 injured in a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Kuwait in 2015. The Sunni extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
That same year, two attacks on Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia within a week killed at least 25 people. The attacks were again claimed by IS, which regards Shias as heretics.
In 2005, a former teacher opened fire inside a government building in Muscat, killing two people and wounding several others, before shooting himself.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
