Eight people died in a Karak church shooting

Three gunmen attacked a church in Karak governorate on Friday afternoon, killing eight people and wounding 40 others. The assault occurred during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, located about 120km south of Amman. Survivors reported hearing an explosion shortly after the service began.

Two attackers arrived in a vehicle and were joined by a third man carrying a semi-automatic rifle. They entered the church and fired for several minutes. Security forces are currently searching for the three fugitives, whom government statements have described as unknown assailants. The Ministry of Health confirmed the casualties, noting that authorities are treating the event as an act of terror.

The shooting followed a specific sequence of events documented by witnesses and state media. Security camera footage broadcast on the state channel Al-Mamlaka shows three individuals shooting outside the church. They ran toward the entrance and fired on a group of men attempting to flee. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, stated that one attacker stood about two meters away and fired a handgun at him. His son, who was also inside, was shot in the leg and is being treated in hospital.

Jordan's Petra news agency reported on Saturday that seven victims died at the scene. An eighth victim, a woman, died of her injuries hours later. Of the 40 wounded, 27 remain hospitalized. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak said one patient is in critical condition following surgery. Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative, described the scene as a massacre in every sense of the word.

King Abdullah II ordered a review of security procedures for responding to terrorist attacks. He told families that those responsible would face the harshest penalties. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared three days of national mourning, with flags at half-mast over government buildings. Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the attack to a group of extremists, though no organization was named. The prime minister called the event a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism.

The motive remains unclear as investigators continue their search. Condemnations arrived from Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. The United States embassy in Jordan offered condolences to victims and survivors. Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, labeled the incident a heinous terrorist attack. The Karak area is home to many of Jordan's roughly 300,000 Christians, a community that has lived alongside Muslims in the region for generations.

Violence in the area has historical precedents. In 2016, ISIL carried out a series of attacks across Karak, including a siege on a Crusader-era castle. That standoff killed 10 people, including a Canadian tourist and seven police officers. Four attackers were killed by Jordanian security forces during that incident. The current attack marks a rare strike on a Christian place of worship in the kingdom.