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Six people are dead and more than a dozen injured after two masked gunmen opened fire on worshippers in a terror attack on a mosque in Canada.

Witnesses said the gunmen shouted "Allahu Akbar" and sprayed bullets as people prayed inside the mosque in Quebec City, which has been subjected to a number of Islamophobic attacks in recent years.

Children as young as three were among dozens of worshippers inside the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre, in the Sainte-Foy area of the city, when the massacre began during evening prayers.

In the aftermath witnesses described a chaotic scene as they scrambled for safety and heavily-armed police stormed the building in their hunt for two suspects - one of whom called police and told them he "felt bad" for what he had allegedly done.

Police arrested two university students, including one who is said to be of Moroccan origin, and carried out a number of early-morning raids following the rare mass shooting in Canada.

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There were fears the death toll could rise, as five people were in hospital in a critical condition. Of those, three were said to be between life and death.

At least 12 others suffered minor injuries.

A police spokesman said two men had been arrested, they do not believe there are additional suspects and the scene was "secure", assuring the public there was no wider threat following Sunday night's attack.

Police said it was too early to determine any motive for the violence.

The victims are aged from 35 to 70, said a Quebec provincial police spokeswoman.

The attack in the men's section of the mosque has been condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "a terrorist attack on Muslims".

The men who were arrested are residents of Quebec City, the provincial capital, who attend university in the city of Laval, and one is of Moroccan origin, reported French-language Radio-Canada.

Police have carried out a number of raids. One took place at a flat near the mosque.

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The mass shooting began just before 8pm local time as men and some children were on the ground floor, and women and more children were upstairs, CBC News reported.

A witness who was nearly shot described the terror as two masked gunmen with Quebecois accents entered the mosque as more than 50 people were inside.

The witness told French-language Radio-Canada: "They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, 'Allahu akbar'. The bullets hit people that were praying.

"People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head.

"There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father."

Several people were shot as they apparently attempted to stop the gunmen.

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Hamid Nadji told the Montreal Gazette that he spoke to friends who were inside at the time of the shooting and they described a scene of “carnage”.

He said: "From what we heard over the phone, one person had a weapon discharged in his face because he had wanted to jump on the man to stop him. And the three others died because they wanted to catch the man.”

He added: "Many of the people who lived through this fled their home countries to avoid such situations, because they lived through trauma and didn’t want the same for their children.”

He was told that a gunman went into the mosque and then left to reload his firearm, then came back a second and third time.

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Sgt. Christine Coulombe of Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force, said 39 escaped the mosque without injuries.

One of the suspects was arrested near the mosque and the second was taken into custody near the bridge to Ile d'Orleans, around 12 miles away in Quebec City's east end, after a fleeing in a car.

The second suspect, aged 27, was allegedly in possession of two AK 47-style assault rifles and at least one handgun, Le Soleil reported.

He was arrested alongside the St Lawrence River after calling police and surrendering to a tactical team which feared his Mitsubishi car may be rigged with explosives.

Before he was arrested the suspect reportedly told police he "felt bad" and threatened to kill himself. No explosives were found.

The mosque's president, Mohamed Yangui, who was not inside when the shooting occurred, said he got frantic calls from people at evening prayers.

He said: "Why is this happening here? This is barbaric."

He told Canadian media that the mosque had not received any threats recently.

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In a statement on its Facebook page the mosque offered condolences to the victims' families and urged people not to spread rumours on social media.

It said: "All our thoughts are with the children who have to be told their fathers have died. May Allah give them patience and strength."

An anti-terrorism task force is involved in the investigation.

Trudeau offered his condolences to the shooting victims and their families, saying he reacted with "tremendous shock, sadness and anger".

He added: "We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge.

"While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence.

"Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.

"Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country.

"Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance."

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Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard condemned the attack and urged Quebecers to unite against violence and stand in solidarity with the Muslim community.

He told reporters: "It's a murderous act directed at a specific community."

Solidarity rallies were due to take place across Quebec on Monday.

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume, who appeared at a news conference with Couillard, fought back tears, saying: "To the Muslim community, our neighbours, our co-citizens, who count on our support and solidarity, I want to say, 'we love you'."

The National Council of Canadian Muslims condemned the attack, saying Islamophobia is on the rise in Canada.

Ihsaan Gardee, the organisation's executive director, said: "The fact that the attack was on a mosque strongly suggests that this was a hate crime and an act of terrorism.

"This is the nightmare scenario that Canadian Muslims have been dreading."

The NCCM said there are "legitimate fears" that US President Donald Trump's so-called "Muslim ban" will lead to more hate and acts of violence.

Police have yet to comment on the incident or offer any suspected motive.

But a number of incidents of Islamophobia have been reported in Quebec in recent years.

(Image: Facebook/Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec) (Image: Facebook/Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec)

In June last year, a pig's head was left on the doorstep of the same mosque. It was wrapped in paper with a note reading "Bonne [sic] appetit".

A few weeks later a letter reading "What is the most serious: a pig's head or a genocide" was distributed in the neighbourhood.

In 2013, police investigated after a mosque in the Saguenay region of Quebec was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood.

In the neighboring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.

On Saturday, Trudeau made a forceful attack on Trump's recent ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.

He made it clear Canada would continue to welcome immigrants.

Trudeau tweeted: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength".

In response to Sunday night's attack, police in cities such as Montreal and New York stationed officers around mosques to provide additional protection as a precaution.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: "Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together."

He added: "NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something."

A mosque in Texas burned to the ground on Saturday morning, just hours after Trump signed the executive order banning citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days.

After Sunday night's shooting people around the world offered condolences, using the hashtag #JeSuisQuebec.

Yet as social media provided a forum to express solidarity, it was also used to spread fake reports or unconfirmed details of the tragedy.

A number of social media posts containing names of the alleged gunmen or claiming the attack had been carried out by white supremacists or Syrian refugees were dismissed as fake.