Isis spreads terror to peaceful Oman, targeting Shiite Muslims in brazen mosque shooting

It marked the first time that the Sunni Muslim extremist group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Oman

Reading Time:3 minutes

Muslim men perform morning prayer in Oman. Tuesday’s attack stunned the peaceful sultanate. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Published: 3:38pm, 17 Jul 2024

Several gunmen burst into a Shiite mosque in the Gulf Arab state of Oman and opened fire, killing at least six people and wounding nearly 30 more, stunning the peaceful sultanate and making it the country’s deadliest such attack in recent memory.

The Islamic State extremist group, through an affiliated news agency, claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday in the capital, Muscat, without providing evidence. It marked the first time that the Sunni Muslim extremist group has asserted responsibility for an attack in Oman.

That Islamic State, which considers Shiites to be heretics, targeted Shiite worshippers on the eve of their holy day is nothing new – the group in January claimed responsibility for an attack in Shiite-majority Iran that killed 84 people.

Most shocking, analysts say, is that the attack happened in Oman, a quiet country on the southeastern edge of the Arabian peninsula with well-trained security forces, a policy of non-intervention and a majority population of Ibadi Muslims, a more liberal offshoot of Islam predating the Sunni-Shiite split.

“It illustrates that Isis thinks outside of the box and tries to do things that most people think wouldn’t be possible, taking advantage of small failures within security architectures of different countries,” said Aaron Y. Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

There is no known branch of Islamic State in Oman, a country that tends to stay out of the sectarian disputes roiling the wider region. But Islamic extremists, including branches of Islamic State and al-Qaeda, have a foothold in neighbouring war-torn Yemen.