4 Pakistanis dead in Oman attack

MUSCAT:

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

Monday’s attack came as the local Shia community marks the Ashura. “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 added. Police said six people, including a police officer were killed.

They added that 28 people “from various nationalities” were wounded, including rescuers and paramedics. One Indian was also among the dead and another wounded, India’s embassy in Oman said on social media platform X.

The Foreign Office in Islamabad said at least “four Pakistanis were martyred as a result of gunshots in the dastardly terrorist attack on the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque”. Another 30 Pakistanis were wounded, it added.

Footage showed people fleeing the mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots ring out. Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman Imran Ali told AFP that the mosque was mostly frequented by South Asian expatriates.

The ambassador said that 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 added.

According to Ali, there was little information on the perpetrators or their possible motive. “Everyone is being tight-lipped about this,” he said, adding that the attack created a “difficult situation”.

Oman is home to at least 400,000 Pakistanis, according to the ambassador. On Tuesday, he visited the hospitals that were treating the wounded. He urged Pakistanis in Oman to cooperate with the authorities and avoid the area around the mosque.

“Our officers are on standby for emergency blood donations in the embassy,” he said in a video message on X, adding that a hotline has been set up to assist the wounded and their relatives.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened by the terrorist attack”. In a statement on X, he said: “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Sultanate of Oman and offers full assistance in the investigation.”

In a statement in Islamabad, the Foreign Office spokesperson quoted the latest information from Omani authorities, stating that the Pakistan Embassy in Oman was coordinating with local authorities to repatriate the remains of Pakistani martyrs.

“Pakistan has offered all possible assistance to Omani authorities in the investigation and in bringing to justice those responsible for this heinous crime during this holy month of Muharram,” the spokesperson added.

The American 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.

Police said “all necessary security measures and procedures have been taken to handle the situation” following the attack. “The authorities are investigating 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. Oman has a population of more than 4 million, of whom upwards of 40% are expat workers, mostly from South Asia, according to government figures.

Several mosque attacks have roiled the Gulf in recent years, but this was the first in Oman. A 2015 suicide attack on a mosque in Kuwait killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 200. It was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The same year, Saudi Arabia saw two IS attacks on mosques in the space of a week, with at least 25 people killed. In 2005, a former teacher opened fire inside a government building in Muscat, killing two people, before shooting himself.