2024-07-16 13:35:21
The shooting is rare in the stable sultanate, which has a majority Muslim population, including a small Shiite minority. “The Royal Oman Police responded to a shooting incident near a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area,” the police said in a statement, adding that four people were killed and “several” others were injured near the mosque in eastern Muscat.
Pakistanis are among the injured, but the numbers have yet to be confirmed, Islamabad’s embassy in Oman said. Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman, Imran Ali, visited the injured at the hospital, the embassy said on social network X. In a video message posted on the same site, he urged Pakistanis in Oman to cooperate with local authorities and avoid the area where the shooting took place.
Following the shooting, the US embassy in Muscat issued a security alert and suspended visas on Tuesday. “U.S. citizens should remain vigilant, follow the news and follow the instructions of local authorities,” the embassy wrote on the social platform X.
Footage confirmed by AFP showed people running near the Imam Ali mosque amid gunshots, its minaret visible, voices heard and people calling for Hussein, the imam considered by Shiites to be the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
Police said all necessary security measures and procedures were in place following the attack, and “authorities are continuing to gather evidence and conduct investigations to determine the circumstances of the incident.” Later on Tuesday, the area was still cordoned off and journalists could not enter the mosque.
According to official statistics, more than four million people live in Oman, more than 40 percent of the population. they are workers from abroad. The sultanate has consistently played a mediating role in regional conflicts, most notably the conflict in Yemen between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized Saudi-backed government.
The Arab Gulf region has seen several attacks on mosques in recent years, but Tuesday’s incident in Oman is unprecedented.
2024-07-16 13:35:21