New Delhi: An Indian national was among the nine people who were killed in a shooting near a Shiite mosque in Muscat, Oman on Monday (July 15), the Indian embassy there reported the Omani foreign ministry as saying.
Another Indian is among the injured, whose number Oman’s police pegged at 28.
The attack took place as Shiites around the world mark the Ashura festival this week.
Omani police said on X that the three gunmen behind the shooting were killed but did not say what they suspected their motive was.
Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry in a statement said four Pakistani nationals were killed in the incident. “Another thirty Pakistanis are under treatment in hospitals,” it added.
The country’s ambassador to Oman, Imran Ali, told news agency AFP that the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque near which the shooting took place was mostly frequented by South Asian Muslims.
He added that the attack began with gunfire from a building next to the mosque as hundreds of people had gathered there to pray and that the perpetrators had held worshippers “hostage” before they were “freed by Omani forces”.
AFP also reported that according to one of its photographers, the area around the mosque was cordoned off and inaccessible to journalists as of Tuesday.
Shooting attacks are a rare occurrence in Oman, one of the most stable countries in the Middle East. Muscat has largely maintained neutrality in the region’s various conflicts, often mediating disputes, including between the US and Iran.
Non-citizens make up around 43% of Oman’s population, with the largest share of migrants coming from South Asia.
Shiites make up a minority of the population in Oman, which is predominantly inhabited by Ibadi and Sunni Muslims.
The police has said it is investigating the case.
With inputs from DW. This report was updated with the latest toll.
