Mirbat today is a small and sleepy town, notable for its Yemeni-style buildings, most of which are sadly in some state of disrepair. One building which has been restored is the fort which was the backdrop to the most notable event in Mirbat’s history. In 1972 the Omani government, supported by the British, was waging a war against a Marxist, Arab nationalist uprising. 300 guerrilla soldiers pinned down 9 SAS soldiers in the fort; thanks largely to the heroic actions of one of the SAS soldiers, who ran under fire to an artillery emplacement and single-handedly operated a field gun usually manned by 4-6 soldiers, the assault was beaten off, although two of the SAS soldiers died in the battle.
