Jordanian King Orders Security Sweep After Eight Die in Karak Church Firefight
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral in the Greek Orthodox church, killing eight and wounding 40 as the country declared three days of mourning.
By Jonathan Hoffmann ·
King Abdullah of Jordan directed security forces to capture the perpetrators of a deadly shooting at a church in Karak on Friday. The royal court stated the monarch instructed the troops to act with firmness to find those responsible for the violence. The attack left eight people dead and 40 others wounded.
The gunfire erupted during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church located roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. Witnesses reported that gunmen fired for several minutes in broad daylight. Jordanian officials labeled the incident an act of extremist terrorism, though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The king traveled to Karak within hours of the shooting to oversee the manhunt. He vowed that the perpetrators would be punished with an iron fist. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan described the event on social media as the result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism, stating that society would not be allowed to follow that path.
National security measures have increased across the country following the incident. The US embassy in Amman reported that authorities stepped up patrols at shopping malls and foreign embassies. Jordan declared a three-day national mourning period. Officials noted it was too early to determine if the attackers had ties to specific groups.
Survivors provided detailed accounts of the chaos. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who was inside the church, said that an attacker stood two meters away and fired a handgun at him. He later learned his son, who was also present, had been shot in the leg and was receiving hospital treatment. Al-Burqan saw two assailants through a window after the gunfire stopped, one masked and one unmasked with a handgun.
Local officials reacted strongly to the violence. Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was injured, called the event a massacre in every sense. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, condemned the wicked attack and expressed hope that the country would remain safe. Video footage from Saturday showed police patrolling the exterior of the damaged church.
