Karak Church Ambush: Seven Dead, 40 Wounded in Jordan

Seven people died and 40 others were wounded when gunmen attacked a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, on Friday. The assault occurred in a town located roughly 90 kilometers south of the capital, Amman. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour reported that two of the injured are in critical condition.

State television footage showed two men armed with pistols approaching the building and firing their weapons. A third man carrying a semiautomatic rifle then moved forward and also discharged his weapon. The three assailants subsequently ran toward the church. Witness videos captured shattered glass and pools of blood on the interior floor. Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the building, stated that intense gunfire erupted about 15 minutes after the service began. He described the scene as a weird situation with heavy gunfire. Although Halasa did not see the attackers, he reported that others told him they had spotted four individuals. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the total number of assailants, and Jordanian security services did not immediately provide specific details.

The government stated that the attack was carried out by unknown assailants. Officials said investigations are underway at full speed but did not indicate whether any gunmen had been captured or killed. The kingdom declared three days of national mourning. King Abdullah II posted on X that Jordan will confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties. He offered deep condolences to the families of the martyrs and wished recovery for the wounded. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan spoke at a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening. He identified the attack as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Hassan said legal measures would be taken against those who seek to introduce extremism.

Karak is home to a minority Christian population. The town experienced deadly violence in 2016 when gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks. Those incidents included a shooting at a Crusader castle popular with tourists. Ten people were killed in the 2016 events, seven of whom were officers, and dozens were wounded. Security forces killed the gunmen after a prolonged standoff.

Regional leaders condemned the shooting. Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Oman issued statements of grief. In Cairo, Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, called the shooting a heinous terrorist attack. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein phoned his Jordanian counterpart to affirm Iraq's solidarity with Jordan in the face of terrorism. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the attack as especially heinous because it took place during a funeral. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the secretary-general called for all those responsible to be found and held to account.