2024 Muscat mosque shooting

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = 2024 Muscat mosque shootings

| image =

| location = Wadi Kabir, Muscat, Oman

| date = 15 July 2024

| partof = Persecution of Shias by the Islamic State

| type = Mass shooting

| motive = Anti-Shi'ism

| target = Shia worshippers at the Imam Ali mosque

| fatalities = 9 (including 3 perpetrators)

| injuries = 28

| perpetrator = {{flagicon|Islamic State}} Islamic State

}}

On 15 July 2024, six people, including a policeman, were killed and 28 others were injured in a mass shooting near a Shia Muslim mosque in Oman's capital, Muscat. The Islamic State and Gim claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background

Oman is predominantly Muslim, with most following the Sunni and Ibadi sects, and Shi'ism accounting for about 5% of the country's population.

The Islamic State has had a history of anti-Shia sentiment, including considerable violence against Shi'ites during the Syrian Civil War and the 2013–2017 conflict between Iraq and the Islamic State.{{cite journal |last=Baele |first=Stephane J. |date=October 2019 |title=Conspiratorial Narratives in Violent Political Actors' Language |url=https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/10871/37355/2/ConspiratorialNarratives_MainArticle_Resubmit_FINAL_CLEAN%20.pdf |url-status=live |editor-last=Giles |editor-first=Howard |journal=Journal of Language and Social Psychology |publisher=SAGE Publications |volume=38 |issue=5–6 |pages=706–734 |doi=10.1177/0261927X19868494 |doi-access=free |hdl=10871/37355 |hdl-access=free |issn=1552-6526 |s2cid=195448888 |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103011030/https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/37355/ConspiratorialNarratives_MainArticle_Resubmit_FINAL_CLEAN%20.pdf;jsessionid=FA9C1098E9A1945CFC0E8C9E8F4D9FC0?sequence=2 |archive-date=3 January 2022 }} However, they had never claimed responsibility for an attack in Oman prior to the shooting.

Attack

The shooting occurred as Shi'ite worshippers were marking the eve of Ashura at the Imam Ali mosque frequently attended by South Asian expatriates{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=Six killed in rare Oman attack claimed by Islamic State group |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240716-four-killed-in-shooting-near-oman-mosque-police |work=France 24}} in the Wadi Kabir area of Muscat. Gunmen reportedly opened fire from a building near the mosque before entering the facility itself in the evening and opening fire,{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=A rare shooting by multiple attackers in a Shiite mosque in Oman kills 5 and wounds dozens more |url=https://apnews.com/article/oman-mosque-shooting-e6d78182f9739c2eb716c980c3fa6547 |work=Associated Press}} with some worshippers taken hostage before being rescued by security forces. A witness told the Times of Oman that the attack lasted for about an hour and a half, while the Pakistani ambassador said he had taken calls from Pakistani worshippers who were in the mosque providing information that was used by Omani security forces in their response.{{Cite news |date=19 July 2024 |title=With mosque attack in quiet Oman, a fragmented Islamic State group aims to show it can still strike |url=https://apnews.com/article/oman-islamic-state-mosque-shooting-07f93df5bbe9bbb454da92f73a2a1499 |work=Associated Press}}

The three attackers were killed by the security forces.

Six other people died in the attack, including a police officer. Pakistan said four of its nationals were killed in the attack, while the local police reported that 28 others were injured.{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=Pakistanis and Indian among six killed in Oman attack claimed by IS |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn38vx7g2e5o |work=BBC}} The Indian embassy in Oman said that one Indian national was killed and another injured in the attack.{{Cite news|title=One Indian killed, another injured in Muscat mosque shooting, says Indian Embassy in Oman|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/world/one-indian-killed-another-injured-in-muscat-mosque-shooting-11721142396930.html|access-date=16 July 2024|work=Mint}} A state of emergency was declared in Wadi Kabir.{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=Four Pakistanis shot dead in Oman mosque attack |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/16/four-shot-dead-near-mosque-in-oman |work=Al Jazeera}}

Aftermath

The remains of the Pakistani fatalities were repatriated by the Pakistani government on 19 July aboard Pakistan International Airlines flights towards Islamabad and Lahore for burial in their places of origin.{{Cite news |date=19 July 2024 |title=The bodies of 4 Pakistanis killed in the attack on a mosque in Oman have been returned home |url=https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-victims-oman-islamic-state-shooting-a3b0e14d655a4b975c89d26a468e8300 |work=Associated Press}}

Perpetrators

The Islamic State subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=Islamic State claims responsibility for rare attack at Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Oman |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/islamic-state-claims-responsibility-rare-attack-shiite-muslim-mosque-oman-2024-07-16/ |access-date=16 July 2024 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=IS Takes Credit for Attack in Oman |url=https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/is-takes-credit-for-attack-in-oman.html |work=SITE}}{{Cite web |date=17 July 2024 |title=What's behind Islamic State's first attack in Oman? |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/07/whats-behind-islamic-states-first-attack-oman |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=Al-Monitor |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Law |first1=Heather |last2=Al Lawati |first2=Abbas |date=16 July 2024 |title=ISIS claims responsibility for rare attack on mosque in Oman |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/16/middleeast/oman-mosque-shooting-intl-latam/index.html |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=15 July 2024 |title=Toll from Oman mosque attack rises to six, three gunmen killed: Police |url= https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2024/07/16/four-killed-several-wounded-by-gunfire-near-mosque-in-oman-s-wadi-al-kabir-police |work=Al Arabiya}} and published a picture of the gunmen raising the group's flag on its Amaq News Agency.{{Cite news |date=18 July 2024 |title=Omani brothers behind Shia mosque attack that killed six: Police |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/News/gulf/2024/07/18/oman-s-shia-mosque-attackers-were-all-omani-citizens |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=Al Arabiya}} The gunmen were all citizens of Oman, and were brothers, according to the police.{{Cite web |agency=Reuters |title=Oman mosque shooting: Attackers were all Omani citizens, say police |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/gulf/oman-mosque-shooting-attackers-were-all-omani-citizens-says-state-media |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=Khaleej Times |language=en}}

Reactions

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sadness over the attack and offered his government's help in the investigation.{{Cite news |date=17 July 2024 |title=In attack that shocks quiet Oman, gunmen kill 6 and wound dozens more at a Shiite mosque |url=https://apnews.com/article/oman-mosque-shooting-e6d78182f9739c2eb716c980c3fa6547 |work=Associated Press}} The Pakistani embassy in Oman called on all its nationals in the country to cooperate with Omani authorities.{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=At least six killed in Oman mosque attack |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/16/four-shot-dead-near-mosque-in-oman |work=Al Jazeera}} The US embassy in Oman issued a security alert and cancelled all visa appointments scheduled on 16 July.{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=4 killed in shooting near Oman mosque: police |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240716-4-killed-in-shooting-near-oman-mosque-police |work=France 24}} The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated it stood "in solidarity with Oman against such attempts to sow discord."{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=In attack that shocks quiet Oman, gunmen kill 6 and wound dozens more at a Shiite mosque |url=https://apnews.com/article/oman-mosque-shooting-e6d78182f9739c2eb716c980c3fa6547 |work=AP News}} The UAE expressed its "strong condemnation of these criminal acts and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence.” Bahrain's foreign ministry said that the shooting was a "heinous attack that goes against all religious and moral values and aims to destabilise the security and stability of Oman". Saudi Arabia praised the efficiency of the Omani reaction to the shooting. The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Al Budaiwi, affirmed the support of the council for Oman, which is a member state.

News outlets have noted the rarity of the attack in Oman, a relatively stable Gulf nation.