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Islamic State claims responsibility for Oman attack

An attack on a mosque in Muscat, Oman, has left at least nine people dead, including three attackers (John Coomber/AAP PHOTOS)

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Oman that left at least nine people dead, including three attackers.

The assault on Monday, which is unusual in the wealthy, Sunni Muslim-dominated Gulf states, raises fears the Islamic State group may be trying to gain a foothold in new territory.

"Three suicide attackers from the Islamic State attacked last night a gathering of Shi'ite (Muslims) while they were practising their annual rituals at a temple in the Wadi al-Kabir district in the (Omani) capital," according to an IS statement, which cited three security sources.

The Islamic State fighters fired on Shi'ite worshippers and exchanged gunfire with Omani security forces until morning, the statement added.

Islamic State late on Tuesday published what it said was a video of the attack on its Telegram site.

The group also said the attack left more than 30 Shi'ite Muslims and five Omani forces, including a police officer, killed or wounded. 

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