MUSCAT, 7 December 2003 — Diplomats say the shooting death of a German tourist in Oman on Monday was not the work of terrorists.
“Going by indications, the fatal daylight shooting of a German visitor on Monday in Muscat is not an act of terrorism,” the German ambassador told Arab News yesterday.
Hartmut Blankenstein said the victim, who was in his 50s and wearing trousers and a T-shirt, was shot in the head from behind in Shatiul Qurum, an upmarket seaside area, and the body was first discovered by schoolchildren waiting for a bus.
He said the circumstances did not fit the pattern of attacks by terrorists “known for bombings and indiscriminate firing. Nor has anyone claimed responsibility, as they usually do in such cases.” Blankenstein spoke publicly for the first time since the incident, which sparked a US warning this week.
British Ambassador Stuart Laing echoed Blankenstein’s remarks. “We think it is highly unlikely that the shooting is linked to terrorism,” he said. It had also been unlikely in the case of a British national who was shot and injured in his parked car in October. “The cases seem unrelated,” he added.
He said the wounded Briton, a businessman, had gone back to Australia, his adopted country.
Laing said his embassy’s advice to British nationals living or traveling to Oman “remains unchanged. Be cautious and keep watching our website.”
Blankenstein said the advice to some 250 German residents in Oman was to remain vigilant.
