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6 killed in rare ‘dastardly terrorist’ Oman attack near Shiite mosque

  • Attacks on Shiite mosques have roiled the Gulf but this is the first in Oman, where Shiites are a minority of its largely Muslim population

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A man stands atop a hill in al-Wadi al-Kabir, where four people died a gunfire attack at a mosque. Photo: AFP

The death toll from a shooting near a Shiite mosque in Oman’s capital has climbed to six, police said on Tuesday, adding that the three attackers were also killed.

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Monday’s shooting “resulted in the death of five individuals, the martyrdom of one policeman, and the death of the three perpetrators”, with at least 28 other people wounded, Omani police said in a statement.

Shiites make up a small minority of Oman’s overwhelmingly Muslim population. Most Omanis follow the Sunni or Ibadi branches of the faith.

The attack, which has yet to be claimed, came as Shiites this week mark Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century death in battle of Imam Hussein, regarded by Shiites as the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed.

“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, police said in a statement.

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The force gave an initial toll of four killed and “several” wounded.

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