Jordan Security: Three-Day Mourning After Karak Church Massacre

Jordanian security forces are searching for three unidentified gunmen who attacked a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud on Friday afternoon. The Ministry of Health confirmed that eight people were killed and 40 others were wounded in the assault. The attack occurred during a funeral service in Karak governorate, located approximately 120 kilometers south of the capital Amman.

Survivors described a chaotic scene beginning with an explosion shortly after the service started. Two attackers arrived by vehicle and were joined by a third man carrying a semi-automatic rifle. They entered the church and fired for several minutes. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, stated that one attacker fired a handgun at him from a distance of about two meters. His son, who was also present, was shot in the leg and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared three days of national mourning and ordered a comprehensive review of Jordan's security procedures for responding to terrorist attacks. He characterized the incident as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. King Abdullah II offered condolences to the victims' families and stated that the responsible parties would face the harshest penalties. Flags at government and public buildings were lowered to half-mast during the mourning period.

Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the attack to a group of extremists but did not name a specific organization. The government has not yet identified the three suspects. Security camera footage broadcast by the state channel Al-Mamlaka shows the three individuals firing outside the church and at a group of men attempting to flee. Of the 40 wounded, 27 remain hospitalized, with one patient in critical condition following surgery at Prince Ali Military Hospital.

The incident has drawn international condemnation from countries including Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, described the event as a heinous terrorist attack. The United States embassy in Jordan also extended its condolences to the survivors. Karak governorate is home to a large portion of Jordan's roughly 300,000 Christians. While attacks on Christian sites are rare in the kingdom, the region experienced violence in 2016 when ISIL carried out a series of attacks, including a siege on a castle that killed 10 people.