This image grab from a UGC video taken on July 16, 2024 shows shows the scene of a shooting at the Imam Ali Mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area in the east of Oman’s capital Muscat. Four people were killed and multiple others wounded in the incident, police said on July 16.
| Photo Credit: AFP

An Indian national was among six people killed in a rare shooting attack by Islamic State militant group near a Shia Muslim mosque in Oman’s capital.

The shooting on July 15 night near the Imam Ali Mosque also claimed the lives of one policeman and four Pakistan nationals, while injuring 28 others.

“Following the shooting incident reported in Muscat city on July 15, Foreign Ministry of Sultanate of Oman has informed that one Indian national has lost his life & another is injured,” Embassy of India in Muscat posted on X July 16.

“Embassy offers its sincere condolences & stands ready to offer all assistance to the families,” it said.

The three attackers were also killed by security forces during the incident in the al-Wadi al-Kabir area on July 15 night, according to a statement.

Pakistan said four Pakistanis were among those killed in a “terrorist attack” on the Imam Ali Mosque. India also said one of its citizens was killed.

The Islamic State (ISIS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The ISIS has repeatedly targeted Shia ceremonies, processions and worshippers in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it has never before claimed an attack in Oman, where the Shia are a minority.

Oman:

Six people including four Pakistanis were killed and nearly 30 wounded in a shooting near a Shiite mosque in the Omani capital Muscat, officials said Tuesday, a rare attack in the otherwise stable Gulf sultanate.

Monday’s mosque attack, which has yet to be claimed, came as Shiites this week mark Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century death in battle of Imam Hussein, regarded by the sect as the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed.

“The Royal Oman Police have responded to a shooting incident that occurred in the vicinity of a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area” of the capital, a police statement said.

The three gunmen behind the attack were killed and police officers have “concluded the procedures for dealing with the shooting,” it said.

It gave a death count of six killed, including a police officer. It said 28 people “from various nationalities” were wounded, including rescuers and paramedics.

The foreign ministry in Islamabad said at least four Pakistanis were killed.

“Four Pakistanis were martyred as a result of gunshots in the dastardly terrorist attack on the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque,” it said in a statement.

“Another 30 Pakistanis are under treatment in hospitals.”

Footage verified by AFP shows people fleeing the Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots ring out.

A voice can be heard saying “oh God” and repeating “oh Hussein”.

Speaking to AFP, Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman Imran Ali said the mosque was mostly frequented by south Asian expatriates. Oman is home to at least 400,000 Pakistanis, he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened by the terrorist attack”.

In a statement on social media platform X, he said: “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Sultanate of Oman and offers full assistance in the investigation.”

Held ‘hostage’

Pakistan’s ambassador said the attack started with gunfire from a building adjacent to the mosque as hundreds of people gathered for prayers.

The worshippers were held “hostage” by militants before “they were later freed by Omani forces”, Ali told AFP.

He said there was little information on the perpetrators of the attack or their possible motive.

“Everyone is being tight-lipped about this,” he said, adding that the attack created a “difficult situation”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ali toured hospitals treating the wounded.

In a video message on X, he urged Pakistanis in Oman to cooperate with the authorities and avoid the area around the mosque.

“We are in touch with Omani authorities as well as hospitals. Our officers are on standby for emergency blood donations in the embassy,” he said, adding that a hotline has been set up to assist the wounded and their relatives.

The US embassy in Muscat issued a security alert following the shooting and cancelled all visa appointments for Tuesday.

“US citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news and heed directions of local authorities,” it posted on X.

Investigations underway

Police said “all necessary security measures and procedures have been taken to handle the situation” following the attack.

“The authorities are continuing to gather evidence and conduct investigations to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police added on X.

The area remained cordoned off on Tuesday, with journalists unable to access the mosque, an AFP photographer reported.

Oman has a population of more than four million, of whom upwards of 40 percent are expat workers, mostly from south Asia, according to government figures.

Shiites make up a small minority of Oman’s overwhelmingly Muslim population. Most Omanis follow the Sunni or Ibadi branches of the faith.

While several attacks on Shiite mosques have roiled the Gulf in recent years, Tuesday’s attack is a first for Oman.

A 2015 suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait killed at least 27 worshippers and wounded more than 200. It was claimed by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group.

The same year, Saudi Arabia saw two attacks on Shiite mosques in the space of a week, with at least 25 people killed. The attacks were again claimed by IS, which regards Shiites 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.)

Police in Oman said on July 16 a shooting in a mosque has killed four people and wounded others.

The Royal Oman Police said in a statement online the shooting happened in the Wadi Kabir neighborhood of Muscat, the Omani capital.

Police gave no motive nor said who was suspected of carrying out the attack.

Oman is on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Such violence is rare in the sultanate.

The U.S. Embassy in Oman issued a warning for Americans to “stay away from the area.”