Gulf Arab states have condemned a deadly shooting claimed by Daesh at a mosque in Oman.
Monday’s shooting killed at least six people — four Pakistanis, an Indian and an Omani police officer — and wounded 28, police said.
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.
The UAE expressed its “strong condemnation of these criminal acts and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence”.
A foreign ministry statement said the attack “undermines security and stability, and endangers” the lives of Omanis.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry called the shooting a “heinous attack that goes against all religious and moral values and aims to destabilise the security and stability of Oman”.
The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Al Budaiwi, “affirmed the full support and solidarity of GCC countries” with their fellow member state.
Saudi Arabia praised “the speed and efficiency” with which Omani authorities dealt with the shooting.
The attack was claimed by Daesh extremists, who claimed similar attacks on mosques in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 2015.
The extremists also claimed responsibility for two bombings in Iran in January that killed nearly 100 people.
The group once controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria before it was declared defeated in 2019 following multiple military campaigns.
Despite the loss of its self-declared “caliphate”, the group has continued to mount attacks on civilians and security personnel in both countries.