Indian among at least six killed in mosque attack in Oman's Muscat

Another Indian citizen was injured, the Indian embassy said. Other victims include a police officer and four Pakistanis.

An Indian citizen is among at least six people killed in a shooting attack that targeted a Shiite mosque in Oman's capital Muscat, the Indian embassy said on Tuesday.

This image grab from a UGC video taken on July 16, 2024 shows shows people fleeing 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. (Photo by UGC / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE � MANDATORY CREDIT � AFP PHOTO / [SOURCE] � - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS � DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS [- NO ARCHIVE ]

“Following the shooting incident reported in in Muscat on 15 July, Foreign Ministry of Sultanate of Oman has informed that one Indian national has lost his life and another is injured. We offers our sincere condolences and stand ready to offer all assistance to the families,” the embassy announced in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The mosque is in Muscat's Al-Wadi Al-Kabira area, according to a statement by the Royal Oman Police.

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

The force gave a toll of six, including an officer, and stated that 28 people were injured, including rescuers, paramedics, and people ‘from various nationalities.’

The victims include four Pakistanis as well, with the country's foreign ministry saying that they were ‘martyred' as a result of gunshots in the dastardly terrorist attack on the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque.’

“30 other Pakistanis were wounded. The mosque was frequented by south Asian expatriates. Oman is home to at least 400,000 Pakistanis,” Imran Ali, Pakistan's ambassador to the gulf nation, told AFP.

“The gunfire started from an adjacent building as hundreds of people gathered for prayers. The worshippers were held hostage before being freed by the Omani forces,” he added.

In a statement on X, Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was ‘deeply saddened by the terrorist attack' and offered ‘full assistance’ in the investigation.

While Iran condemned the shooting as a ‘divisive’ act, the United States embassy issued a security alert and cancelled all visa appointments for the day.

(With AFP inputs)