• A still from a video released by ISIS purports to show the three gunmen who attacked a mosque in Wadi Al Kabir, near Muscat, killing six people and injuring dozens. The suspects were shot dead by Omani police. Amaq News Agency
    A still from a video released by ISIS purports to show the three gunmen who attacked a mosque in Wadi Al Kabir, near Muscat, killing six people and injuring dozens. The suspects were shot dead by Omani police. Amaq News Agency
  • People flee the scene after a shooting at the Imam Ali Mosque in Wadi Al Kabir, on the outskirts of Muscat, on Monday night. AFP
    People flee the scene after a shooting at the Imam Ali Mosque in Wadi Al Kabir, on the outskirts of Muscat, on Monday night. AFP
  • ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack at a Shiite mosque that left at least nine people dead. AFP
    ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack at a Shiite mosque that left at least nine people dead. AFP
  • A police checkpoint was established on the back road entrance to Imam Ali Mosque amid fears that ISIS may be trying to gain a foothold in new territory. Photo: The National
    A police checkpoint was established on the back road entrance to Imam Ali Mosque amid fears that ISIS may be trying to gain a foothold in new territory. Photo: The National
  • Footage on social media showed dozens of people fleeing the Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots rang out. Photo: The National
    Footage on social media showed dozens of people fleeing the Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots rang out. Photo: The National
  • Four Pakistanis, an Indian and a police officer were among those killed at the mosque, according to Pakistani, Indian and Omani officials. Photo: The National
    Four Pakistanis, an Indian and a police officer were among those killed at the mosque, according to Pakistani, Indian and Omani officials. Photo: The National
  • Traffic was reduced on Wadi Kabir Al Bustan Road. Police said 'all necessary security measures and procedures' had been taken. Photo: The National
    Traffic was reduced on Wadi Kabir Al Bustan Road. Police said 'all necessary security measures and procedures' had been taken. Photo: The National

Oman mosque survivors say gunmen chanted 'non-believers, this is your end' as they fired


Ramola Talwar Badam
  • English
  • Arabic

Survivors of the Oman mosque attack have told of the moment gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons as they shouted: “You non-believers, this is your end.”

Worshippers thought the pops and cracks were firecrackers as they gathered at Imam Ali Mosque to mark an occasion sacred to Shiite Muslims, until bodies began falling to the ground.

“We fell to the ground … bullets hit the wall and road all around us,” Shaandar Bukhari, a mosque volunteer from Attock, Pakistan, told The National.

“The sniper was chanting loudly as he shot at us. It was in pure Arabic – not someone who would have learnt Arabic – and he shouted: “You non-believers, this is your end.'”

We pushed people inside and shut the doors so they could not enter. We tried to keep people calm but there was so much fear
Syed Hassan,
worshipper

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday night, which left nine people dead, including three gunmen, and dozens injured.

It broadcast a video showing three men holding the black ISIS flag before the attack in Wadi Al Kabir, a town outside Muscat. One can be seen holding an Austrian-made Steyr assault rifle. Their identities are not yet known.

The gunmen left dozens wounded and went on to trade fire with Omani police and troops until they were gunned down. The siege began at 10.15pm and lasted for more than 10 hours, ending on Tuesday.

Worshippers were shepherded out in batches from 11.30pm on Monday until 5am on Tuesday.

Omani authorities have released few details about the incident. It is not clear how the gunmen sourced weapons in a country with low gun ownership. ISIS has previously claimed responsibility for atrocities it had no direct hand in.

Streets in Wadi Al Kabir remained blocked off as the investigation continued on Wednesday.

The Omani government said it was ready to "confront any challenges" to its national security, in the wake of the shooting and the capsizing of an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.

“Our dear land witnessed an exceptional day when it was exposed to two unprecedented security incidents, and our security services responded to them with great efficiency, demonstrating to the entire world their readiness and ability to confront any challenges that arise,” the government said in a statement.

The statement said investigations are ongoing to determine the motive behind the incidents.

'Terrorist attack'

Worshippers said the gunmen were standing on the roof of an adjacent building and used the floodlights there to view targets in the courtyard below.

Mr Bukhari, 42, who heads a team of mosque volunteers and works for an advertising firm in Muscat, said he could not forget the violent images.

He crawled to the car park near the women’s section to carry two crying children to safety, but their father died in his arms.

“I saw a man in a white T-shirt holding an automatic rifle. He was looking away from me and then I got a chill down my spine when I saw two kids taking shelter between a car and the wall of the mosque,” Mr Bukhari told The National from the hospital where he is being treated after bullets grazed his arms.

“They were sitting on the body of their father and crying, ‘We will not leave our baba.’

“I picked them up and literally threw them into the mosque. Their father was badly wounded. [He] did not think he would make it and kept asking us to save his children.

“With another volunteer, we lifted him to take him in but he was shot in a burst of bullets, he died in our arms.”

Mr Bukhari spoke of the horror of hiding under bodies to escape the barrage of bullets.

“People were shot in the back and legs in front of my eyes as we crawled to the gate,” he said.

“I was lying under a body with two bodies near me. There was loud, constant firing.”

Like others, Mr Bukhari called the authorities by phone.

“We called to ask people to save us, we said there is a terrorist attack on our mosque,” he said.

“These men were barbaric, inhuman. If the Oman police had not come quickly, many more would have died.”

Raining bullets

Mr Bukhari said he spotted at least four gunmen on the roofs of buildings overlooking the mosque during the “relentless” attack.

A small alley between the men's and women’s section of the mosque was also attacked by the gunmen.

“They were firing on us from behind floodlights so we could not see them but they could see us clearly,” Mr Bukhari said.

“When people fell down, they were still firing at the bodies as if to make sure they wouldn’t survive.

“Then I heard bursts of fire that were definitely automatic machinegun bursts.

“It was raining bullets around me and people were falling near me.

“We began pushing people into the mosque.

“But the bullets started hitting the gate, the bullets were so strong, it pierced the gate, the walls.”

'Escaping death'

In the men’s section of the mosque, Syed Hassan, a businessman from Lahore, appealed to worshippers to stay calm.

“We tried to keep people calm but there was so much fear because there was so much shooting,” said Mr Hassan.

He and his teenage son narrowly escaped as they ran for shelter.

“We pushed people inside and shut the doors so they could not enter,” he said.

“This saved lives. But when we were running, my son was hit by a bullet in his right thigh. A bullet went right by my neck and into the door.”

Mr Hassan quickly turned off the lights in the women’s section so the gunmen would not have a clear sight inside.

While tending to his son and others injured, Mr Hassan said he worried about his wife and three children in the women’s section.

He managed to contact the women's section to pass on a message from the police to remain inside.

He and other volunteers have been monitoring the crowds at the mosque for more than a decade.

“If we had not pulled people inside and they were still standing on the road, there would have been a lot more casualties,” he said.

“If not for the local authorities and police many more would have died.”

Additional reporting by Khaled Moussa in Muscat.

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Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.

Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.

The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E660hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C100Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E488km-560km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh850%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOctober%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

THE SPECS

Aston Martin Rapide AMR

Engine: 6.0-litre V12

Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic

Power: 595bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh999,563

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl

Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: Dh99,000

On sale: now

Formula One top 10 drivers' standings after Japan

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 306
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 234
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 192
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 148
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 111
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 82
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 65
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 48
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 34

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eamana%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Farra%20and%20Ziad%20Aboujeb%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERegulator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDFSA%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinancial%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E85%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf-funded%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up

Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm

On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm

The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm

The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm

Romang, June 28 at 6pm

Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm

Underdog, June 29 at 2pm

Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm

A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm 

 

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Three trading apps to try

Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:

  • For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
  • If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
  • Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
Scoreline

Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')

Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')

Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'

ON%20TRACK
%3Cp%3EThe%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Assembly%20will%20host%20three%20main%20tracks%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEducate%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Consists%20of%20more%20than%2010%20in-depth%20sessions%20on%20the%20metaverse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInspire%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Will%20showcase%20use%20cases%20of%20the%20metaverse%20in%20tourism%2C%20logistics%2C%20retail%2C%20education%20and%20health%20care%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EContribute%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Workshops%20for%20metaverse%20foresight%20and%20use-case%20reviews%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The specs

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh130,000

On sale: now

Updated: July 17, 2024, 4:56 PM