MUSCAT, 5 January 2004 — A US citizen murdered here last week was the victim of a conspiracy by his wife and son, who hired Omanis to kill him, the official ONA news agency reported, quoting the Royal Oman Police.
The American, whose identity has not been revealed, was embroiled in a family dispute, police said.
The American’s body was found in Al-Hail district on Dec. 31.
The culprits are now in police custody, ONA said, and have confessed to killing the American, who worked for an oil company in Oman.
A US Embassy spokesperson in Muscat told AFP: “We’ve left it to the Royal Oman Police. We feel confident they are doing the best they can. They’re working very closely with the embassy.”
Asked about any possible link between the American’s death and the shootings of a Briton here in October and a German in December, the spokesperson said each case appeared “individual” and “distinct”.
The German was killed and the Briton wounded.
ONA quoted the police as saying that the German’s death was also the result of a family dispute and that the suspects in that case too had been arrested.
The two earlier shootings sparked a US warning to its citizens in Oman last month.
Both the German and British ambassadors here told AFP they did not think the incidents were linked to terrorism.
