AMMAN, October 24 (Aalimi Nation) – Gunmen opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan's Karak governorate on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 34 others during a funeral, in what the country's leaders have described as a terrorist attack. The Jordan church attack has shocked a kingdom where violence against its Christian minority is rare.
Public Security Director Maj. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah told a press conference that seven people died and 34 were wounded, 27 of whom were still receiving hospital treatment. He said the search for the attackers was continuing and that "the perpetrators will be caught."
The government said the attack was "carried out by unknown assailants" and that "investigations are underway at full speed." Officials had not said whether any suspect had been arrested or killed, and no individual or group had claimed responsibility. The attackers' identities and motive remain unknown.
The incident took place at a church in the village of Hamoud, in Karak, a town about 180 km south of the capital, Amman. Early casualty figures were lower and rose as the day went on, so the numbers should still be treated as provisional.
Survivors said they heard an explosion as the funeral procession was getting under way. They then described masked attackers who forced their way towards the church and fired for several minutes. The source of the blast has not been explained by the authorities.
Accounts differ on how many people were involved. Some reports spoke of two gunmen who stepped out of a vehicle, one with a pistol and one with a rifle. Video shown on Jordanian television was described as showing two men with pistols and then a third with a semi-automatic rifle, all of whom ran towards the church. Security forces were pursuing the suspects, officials said.
King Abdullah II said on X that Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties." He offered his "deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, and our wishes for recovery to the wounded."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through his spokesman, strongly condemned the attack and called an assault on a funeral procession especially heinous. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, called it a "heinous terrorist attack." Iraq's foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, expressed his country's solidarity with Jordan, according to his office. Condemnations also came from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Christians make up a small minority of Jordan's population, and Karak's Christian and Muslim residents have long lived side by side. Large attacks on worshippers are uncommon in the kingdom.
Karak has seen violence before. In 2016, gunmen attacked police and visitors in the town, and 10 people were killed. Security forces killed the attackers after a standoff.
The investigation is ongoing, and the main questions are who carried out the attack, whether more than one team was involved and why a funeral was chosen. The authorities have not announced when further findings will be made public. Updates to the casualty figures are possible, as some of the wounded remain in hospital.
