ISLAMABAD (AP) — The bodies of four Pakistanis killed in an attack on a Shiite mosque in Oman this week have been repatriated and handed to their families, officials said Friday.
Relatives of the victims were present when the Pakistan International Airlines flights landed at the Islamabad and Lahore airports. Airline spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said the bodies were repatriated at orders from the government and handed to the victims’ relatives for burial.
On Monday, gunmen had stormed a mosque in Oman’s capital, Muscat, that was packed with worshippers holding special prayers on the eve of the Shiite mourning festival of Ashoura. The festival marks the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, at Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
The Islamic State group claimed Monday’s attack in the first instance of the Sunni Muslim extremist group asserting responsibility for an attack in Oman. Omani police have said the three assailants were killed in a subsequent gunfight and were Omani citizens, all brothers.
Many of those inside the mosque were Pakistanis, who make up a large number of the nearly 2 million migrants who help power Oman’s economy working in construction and other fields. Pakistan’s ambassador in Omar, Imran Ali, said Pakistan was not the target and some of the Pakistanis died while trying to save other worshippers.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying, “Such acts of terrorism and violence against peaceful civilians cannot be condoned on any grounds whatsoever.”
The attack demonstrated the persistent threat posed by terrorist organizations and was a reminder of the importance of working together to fight them, ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a news conference in Islamabad on Friday. She said Pakistan offered its assistance to Oman in its investigation.
