(MENAFN- Jordan Times) MUSCAT, Oman – Three Omani brothers were behind a shooting near a Shiite mosque, the sultanate’s police said Thursday, after the terror group Daesh claimed responsibility for the rare attack.

At least six people were killed in Monday’s shooting: four Pakistanis, an Indian and an Omani police officer. 28 people were wounded, authorities said.

It was the first known operation that IS claimed in the sultanate, which is one of 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 because they continued to resist the security personnel,” the statement said, adding that the attackers were “influenced by misguided ideas.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Daesh’s Aamaq propaganda arm claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted “Shia people performing their annual rituals” marking the holy mourning period of Ashura

A photo was posted showing the three perpetrators raising the group’s black flag.

Aamaq did not give details about their nationality.

Monday’s attack came ahead of Ashura, an annual day of mourning commemorating the seventh-century death of Imam Hussein, considered by Shiites to be the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

There have been several attacks on Shiite mosques in the Gulf in recent years, but this was the first in Oman.

A suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait in 2015 killed more than two dozen worshippers. The attack was claimed by the terrorist organization IS.

That same year, two attacks on Shiite mosques in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia took place within a week, killing at least 25 people. Daesh again claimed responsibility for the attacks.

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