Omani brothers behind mosque attack: police

MUSCAT: Three Omani brothers were behind a shooting near a mosque, the sultanate’s police force said Thursday, after Islamic State group jihadists claimed the rare attack.

Monday’s shooting killed at least six people -- four Pakistanis, an Indian and an Omani police officer -- and wounded 28, authorities have said.

It was the first known operation claimed by the IS group in the sultanate which is among the most stable countries in the Middle East.

“The three perpetrators involved in the incident were Omani nationals and brothers,” Omani police said in a statement on social media platform X. “They were killed due to their insistence on resisting security personnel,” the statement said, adding

that the attackers “were influenced by misguided ideas”.

In a statement Tuesday, IS’s Aamaq propaganda arm claimed the attack, saying it targeted Shiites on the occasion of the holy mourning period of Ashura. It posted a picture purporting to show the three perpetrators raising the group’s black flag.