Nine people were killed and dozens injured in the first-ever attack claimed by the jihadist extremist group ISIS in the Wadi Kabir district of Oman on Tuesday.
According to the Royal Oman Police, the shooting occurred in the Wadi al-Kabir neighborhood of the capital, Muscat. Among the dead were three perpetrators, a police officer, four Pakistanis, and an Indian national. More than twenty people of different nationalities were injured, including four Omani officials.
The attack took place at Imam Ali Mosque during Ashura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which holds special significance for Shiite Muslims.
The jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released on its official Telegram channel.
Experts say this is the first attack by Islamic State in traditionally stable Oman and the first time in eight years that jihadists have claimed an attack in the oil-rich Gulf region.
Ayman Jawad al-Tamimi, a research fellow at the Middle East Forum and an expert on Islamic State, described the attack in Oman as “extremely unusual” and noted that there had been little evidence of jihadist activity in the country in the past.