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Six people, including a policeman, have been killed and 28 others injured in a rare shooting attack near a Shia mosque in Oman’s capital, Muscat, police say.<\/p>\n
The three attackers were also killed by security forces during the incident in the al-Wadi al-Kabir area on Monday night, according to a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n It did not provide details about the identities of the victims and gunmen, nor the motive. But Pakistan\u2019s prime minister said four Pakistanis were among those killed in a “terrorist attack” on the Imam Ali Mosque.<\/p>\n Video showed a crowd running for cover inside the mosque’s courtyard as two dozen gunshots are heard<\/a>. Worshippers had gathered there on the eve of the Shia holy day of Ashura.<\/p>\n The police statement expressed condolences to the victims’ families and said an investigation into the circumstances of the incident was under way.<\/p>\n It also emphasised “the necessity of obtaining information from official sources and disregarding unreliable information”.<\/p>\n Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack and that his “heart goes out to the families of the victims”.<\/p>\n “I have instructed the Pakistan embassy in Muscat to extend all possible assistance to the injured and visit the hospitals personally,” he wrote on X.<\/a><\/p>\n “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Sultanate of Oman and offers full assistance in the investigation.”<\/p>\n Pakistan’s embassy in Muscat named the four Pakistanis who were killed as Ghulam Abbas, Hasan Abbas, Sayyed Qaisar Abbas and Sulaiman Nawaz<\/a>. It also said 30 Pakistanis were receiving hospital treatment.<\/p>\n Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistani ambassador Imran Ali said in a video that he had visited some of those injured at three local hospitals and described their conditions as “relatively safe”. He also advised Pakistani residents of Oman to avoid al-Wadi al-Kabir and to co-operate with local authorities.<\/p>\n The National, a newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, cited Mr Ali as saying that at least 50 Pakistani expatriate workers were injured in the attack, with 20 being treated for bullet wounds.<\/p>\n