KARACHI: The bodies of four Pakistanis who were killed in a rare mosque attack in Oman’s Muscat have been repatriated to the country, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman said on Friday.
The attack, which was claimed by the Daesh terrorist organization and was described as a “vile” terrorist attack by Pakistan, took place on Monday night at the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque in Muscat’s Wadi al-Kabir district.
The Royal Oman Police said the three gunmen – all Omani nationals – were brothers and “were killed because they insisted on resisting security personnel”. It said police investigations showed the three gunmen were “under the influence of delusional ideas”.
The six people killed by the gunmen were four Pakistani nationals, an Indian and a policeman in response to the attack. Another twenty-eight were injured.
In a statement, PIA said that the body of late Syed Qaiser has been taken to Karachi and will be taken to Lahore later. Meanwhile, the bodies of Ghulam Abbas and Hasan Abbas were taken to Islamabad while those of Suleman Nawaz to Lahore.
It was the first known operation claimed by the Daesh group in the sultanate, which is among the most stable countries in the Middle East.
Monday’s attack came ahead of Ashura, the annual day of mourning that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, his family and companions in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century.
