Seven Dead, 40 Wounded in Karak Church Shooting

Seven people died and 40 were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a funeral in Jordan on Friday.

The attack struck a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, a town located approximately 55 miles south of Amman. Jordanian state television broadcast footage of two men approaching the building with pistols. A third man carrying a semiautomatic rifle then stepped forward to fire. All three suspects ran toward the church interior. Witness videos captured broken glass and blood on the floor.

Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the building, described the scene as intense gunfire broke out about 15 minutes after the service started. "It was a weird situation, and heavy gunfire," Halasa said. He noted that other attendees reported seeing four assailants, though security services did not immediately confirm the total number of attackers.

The government stated the assault was carried out by unknown assailants and that investigations are proceeding at full speed. It did not indicate whether any gunmen were captured or killed. Petra News Agency reported that Jordan declared three days of national mourning. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour confirmed that two of the wounded remain in critical condition.

King Abdullah II posted on X that the nation will confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties. He extended condolences to the families of the dead and wished recovery to the injured. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan spoke at a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening. He labeled the attack a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Hassan said legal measures will target those who seek to introduce extremism.

Karak holds a minority Christian population and has experienced deadly violence previously. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in the town, killing ten people, including seven officers. Regional leaders from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Oman offered condemnation. 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 solidarity. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the attack as especially heinous because it occurred during a funeral. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the secretary-general called for those responsible to be found and held to account.