A rare shooting occurred near a Shiite mosque in the Oman capital Muscat, killing six people, including a policeman, and injuring 28 others, police said.
Three attackers were also killed by security forces in an incident in the al-Wadi al-Kabir area on Monday night. according to a statement.
It did not provide details about the identities or motives of the victims and shooters. But Pakistan said a “terrorist attack” on the Imam Ali Mosque killed four Pakistanis. India also said one of its citizens was killed.
Video shows crowds running for cover in the mosque courtyard when gunshots are heard. Worshipers gather there on the eve of the Shia festival of Ashura.
The police statement expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said they were investigating the incident.
It also stressed the “need to obtain information from official sources and ignore unreliable information.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack and his “thoughts are with the families of the victims.”
“I have directed the Pakistan Embassy in Muscat to provide all possible assistance to the injured and personally visit the hospital,” He writes on X.
“Pakistan stands with the Sultanate of Oman and is providing its full assistance to the investigation.”
The Pakistani Embassy in Muscat named the four Pakistanis killed as Ghulam Abbas, Hasan Abbas, Syed Qesar Abbas and Suleiman Nawaz. It also said 30 Pakistanis were being treated in hospital.
On Tuesday morning, Pakistan’s ambassador Imran Ali said in a video that he had visited some of the injured in three local hospitals and described their conditions as “relatively safe.”
He also advised Pakistani residents in Oman to avoid al-Wadi al-Kabir and cooperate with local authorities.
Ali later told AFP the attackers initially fired from a building next to the mosque where hundreds of people had gathered for prayers.
He said the believers were held “hostage” by the militants and “later released by the Omani army.”
He also said there was little information about a possible motive for the attack, adding: “Everyone is tight-lipped about it.”
The Indian Embassy said the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed that one Indian national was killed and another was injured, but did not disclose the identity.
The shooting took place on the night of the 9th of the Islamic month of Muharram when Shia Muslims were attending a ceremony on the eve of Ashura. Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in a battle in the seventh century.
In footage filmed inside the Imam Ali Mosque at the time of the attack, some worshipers in the courtyard can be heard shouting “O God,” “O Hussein,” and “Here I am, O Hussein.”
There was no immediate statement from any group, but supporters of the Sunni jihadist group Islamic State (IS) celebrated the shooting on social media networks.
The Islamic State has repeatedly targeted Shiite ceremonies, processions and worshipers in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it has never claimed responsibility for an attack in Oman before.
The Gulf state has long been regarded as one of the most stable and secure countries in the Middle East. This enables it to play a leading role in mediation efforts to resolve conflicts and disputes in the region.
The sultanate has a population of approximately 4.6 million, of which more than 40% are foreign workers.
The government does not publish statistics on religious beliefs.
However, the U.S. State Department estimates that 95% of the population is Muslim, with 45% Sunni, 45% Ibadi, and 5% Shia. Hindus, Buddhists and Christians make up the remaining 5%.
