In brief
Three gunmen burst into a Greek Orthodox church in Karak on a Friday funeral and opened fire, killing seven and wounding dozens. Witnesses described a 15‑minute massacre with screams and bodies scattered across the courtyard. Jordan’s Interior Minister called the attackers a group of extremists and the king promised the harshest penalties. The attack, rare in Jordan, has reignited tensions in the Christian community and prompted a high‑level security response.
Gunmen shake Jordanian town: seven dead in church funeral shooting
Seven people have been killed in a gun‑man attack on a funeral held at a Greek Orthodox church in the Karak governorate of Jordan, authorities confirmed on Friday.
The attack began as three armed men entered the church, firing weapons for about fifteen minutes. Witnesses spoke of frantic scrambling to find cover, bodies lying in the church’s courtyard, and the sound of rifles echoing through the valley.
Initial reports put the death toll at six, but the government later revised the figure to seven. Thirty‑four others were injured, many of them with gunshot wounds and shock‑related conditions.
Interior Minister Mazen al‑Faraya described the perpetrators as “a group of extremists” and said police were working to capture the assailants. King Abdullah II pledged that “the harshest penalties” would be applied against the terror attack.
The shooting has rattled the largely Muslim town, which hosts a sizeable Christian community. Security forces were bolstered at the nearest hospital, where many victims were being treated, and some roads were closed as residents queued outside the building on foot.
During brief on‑scene statements, a witness recounted how people “pushed and threw themselves to the ground,” while others “held their children and tried to flee.” Shots were heard as the attackers fled on a pickup truck, firing as they left.
Security officers and members of the public gathered outside the church in a show of solidarity, amid tear‑ful anger. The incident has been described by the national church as an unprecedented horror, “unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom.”
In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack, noting it “violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners, contradicting all religious and humanitarian values.”
Jordan remains one of the Middle East’s few countries where such violence is rare; however, the attack highlights the fragile security climate in the region. Musings over the threat of terror have intensified following a series of attacks across the region in recent years, and officials have promised “tougher measures” in the coming weeks.
Additional coverage by Majdi Gousous, BBC Arabic.
