Indian National among Six Killed in Terror Attack in Oman
NEW DELHI, July 16: The Indian embassy in Oman on Tuesday in a social media message said an Indian national was among the six killed in a mass shooting that erupted near a Shia mosque in Oman capital Muscat.
Six people including four Pakistanis were killed and nearly 30 were wounded in the shooting, officials said, a rare attack in the otherwise stable Gulf sultanate. The three gunmen behind the attack were killed and police officers have “concluded the procedures for dealing with the shooting,” a statement from the police said.
“Following the shooting incident reported in Muscat city on 15 July, Foreign Ministry of Sultanate of Oman has informed that one Indian national has lost his life & another is injured. Embassy offers its sincere condolences & stands ready to offer all assistance to the families,” the embassy in Muscat said in a message posted on social media site X.
The Pakistani embassy in Oman also condemned the shooting and said it was working with Omani authorities to bring back the mortal remains of the deceased Pakistanis. “Pakistan strongly condemns the dastardly terrorist attack on Imam Bargah Ali bin Abu Talib in Wadi Kabir in Muscat, Oman, that resulted in multiple casualties including two deaths of Pakistani nationals,” it said in a social media post on X.
It later said over 30 of its citizens were hospitalised with injuries and revised the death toll upward to four. “Four Pakistanis were martyred as a result of gunshots in the dastardly terrorist attack on the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque. Another 30 Pakistanis are under treatment in hospitals,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
The shooting occurred on the eve of Ashura, a remembrance of the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith. The day falls in the Islamic month of Muharram, one of the holiest months for Shia Muslims.
“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, the police statement said. It gave a toll of six killed, including a police officer. It said 28 people “from various nationalities” were wounded, including rescuers and paramedics.
(Manas Dasgupta)
