Saturday 07 / September / 2024
MUSCAT: “The hall of the mosque was packed with hundreds of worshippers and the atmosphere was heavy with tension as the sound of panicked, laboured breathing grew louder. The relentless firing of bullets echoed for over an hour, eventually becoming sporadic, but for nearly three hours, death loomed over us.”
Also read: 9 killed, 28 injured in Wadi Kabir shooting
These were the harrowing words of an eyewitness trapped inside the mosque in Al Wadi Al Kabir during a brutal attack on Monday night. The horrific assault claimed the lives of nine individuals, including three assailants, making it one of the most terrifying nights for this Pakistani expatriate.
In an exclusive interview with Times of Oman, he recounted the ordeal on Tuesday afternoon, with the nation still in shock and disbelief.
“It was the night of the ninth day of the Islamic month of Muharram, a time when we gather for rituals on the eve of Ashura. We usually pray during this mourning period. We had concluded our prayers around 10:30 p.m. and then were planning to proceed to Muttrah for the rest of the night to continue with the mourning rituals,” he said.
“There were nearly 500-600 people in the courtyard when we first heard sounds that resembled fireworks. My friend and I were puzzled, wondering why there would be fireworks. Before we could comprehend the severity of the situation, cries of ‘Bhaago, Bhaago [run, run]’ filled the air.
“We rushed inside the mosque, cramming ourselves into the hall. People were flooding in from both entrances as the deafening noise of continuous gunfire made it clear these were bullets. In a matter of minutes, I noticed a six-year-old child, injured amidst the hail of bullets fired from a higher position. His father held him tightly, and soon I saw another injured worshipper,” he recalled, his voice trembling.
The eyewitness continued, “The firing went on for more than an hour and a half. If not for the counter-firing by security officials stationed around the mosque, the tragedy would have been unimaginable. We were instructed to stay silent in the hall. In that moment of despair, I messaged my friend, thinking I might not live to see the dawn. Death seemed imminent. I told my friend to inform my brother in Pakistan if I didn’t survive,” he said, pausing to collect himself.
“The experience was tense, chaotic, and horrific. We felt like hostages for nearly 2-3 hours before ROP officers finally made their way into the building. We were evacuated to the nearby Municipality building around 2:30 a.m. More ROP officials arrived, and we were asked to write down our resident card numbers. Queues were formed, families were united and we were eventually allowed to leave around 4:00 a.m. The ordeal that began around 10:30 p.m. finally came to an end for us.”
Even on Tuesday afternoon when Times of Oman met him, the expatriate employee was visibly shaken.
“For me, it feels like a new life. I am grateful that the ROP came in time and rescued us. Just imagine if the assailants had managed to enter the mosque; it would have been a massacre, leaving hundreds dead. Al Humdulillah, we had a narrow escape. God is great. It’s shocking to witness such an incident in a peaceful nation like Oman, where I have lived for the past five years,” he concluded, his voice filled with a mix of relief and lingering fear.
