Seven people were killed and 34 wounded when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate on Friday, the country’s Public Security Directorate said, with King Abdullah II describing it as a “terrorist attack”.
The directorate's head, Maj Gen Abdallah Al Maaytah, said the search for the attackers was continuing. Twenty-seven of the wounded were receiving treatment in hospitals, he added.
Assailants stormed the compound of a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud in Karak before opening fire, the directorate had earlier said in a statement.
Karak, about 100km south of Amman, is home to a Christian minority in the Muslim-majority kingdom.
King Abdullah said the attack would be met with force. He vowed to crack down on those responsible and said the shooting would not undermine national unity.
“The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” he said in a post on X.
“Those who delude themselves into thinking that they can divide Jordanians with their bullets have no chance in the face of our unity. All Jordanians, from north to south, are partners in land and fate, and nothing stands between them.
“Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation.”
The King visited the injured in hospital and spoke with them to check on their condition, according to footage aired by the state-owned broadcaster Al Mamlaka TV.
Queen Rania said the "heinous crime against worshippers in Karak" had affected all Jordanians.
“Our hearts are with our people of Karak,” she wrote in a post on X.
'Group of extremists'
Jordan's Interior Minister, Mazen Al Faraya, said the attack was carried out by a "group of extremists" and that the government is doing all it can to find the culprits.
"Jordanians reject this cowardly terrorist act. It will strengthen the country's push to combat terrorism in all its forms," he said during a press conference alongside Maj Gen Al Maaytah.
"Jordan is immune to all attempts to drag it towards extremism and terrorism," he said.
Gunmen arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on mourners before fleeing, a relative of one of the deceased told The National. They continued shooting for about five minutes, according to a witness quoted by Al Mamlaka TV.
Between 150 and 200 people were in and around the church at the time, the witness said, adding that most of the victims were aged between 50 and 70.
A doctor who was attending the funeral told The National that mourners were struck by bullets around him as gunfire erupted. He then saw that his father and uncle had been shot. His uncle died, while his father was taken to hospital.
A video aired on Al Mamlaka that appeared to be from a security camera mounted on the church showed three people firing at it from a sidewalk and hiding behind trees and a low wall. The video showed the attackers then running towards the church's entrance.
A member of the Halasah family in Karak told The National that three doctors were among those killed.
“This was a direct attack on the church. Christians were the target,” the relative said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Such incidents are very rare in Jordan, which is relatively stable but has come under Iranian attacks since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. The kingdom is home to several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.
