6 killed in firing near Shia mosque

Six people, including four Pakistanis, were killed and thirty injured in a shooting near a Shia mosque in Muscat, officials announced on Tuesday, July 16. A rare phenomenon in the Sultanate of Oman, it is stable and neutral. The police clarified in a press release “Three attackers killed”, without mentioning their nationality. An investigation has been initiated.

On Tuesday evening, the Islamic State (IS) group finally claimed responsibility for the shooting. Three “Islamic State fighters in Oman capital MuscatIS propaganda arm Amaq claimed responsibility for the attack. goals “Shia observe their annual rituals”.

The firing began at 11pm local time on Monday (7pm GMT) and continued into the early hours of Tuesday morning, Imran Ali, Pakistan’s ambassador in Muscat, told AFP. A security perimeter was established near the mosque named after the first Shiite imam, Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, in eastern Muscat.

Images verified by AFP show people fleeing in front of the mosque as gunfire rang out. We hear a person screaming “Oh God” And again “O Husayn” A reference to the Imam, whom the Shias consider the legitimate successor of the Prophet Muhammad. Imran Ali said the attackers took the worshipers inside “Hostages”, He was later released during an operation by the Omani security forces.

The Shiite mosque under attack is mostly visited by expatriates from Southeast Asia, including 400,000 Pakistanis in Oman.