Eight killed in Karak church shooting

Eight people lost their lives when three armed men opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud on Friday afternoon. The attack occurred during a funeral service, with seven victims dying at the scene and an eighth, a woman, succumbing to her injuries hours later. Forty others were wounded, and 27 remain hospitalized, with one patient in critical condition following surgery at Prince Ali Military Hospital.

The assailants arrived in a vehicle shortly after the service began. Survivors reported hearing an explosion before two gunmen entered the building, joined by a third man carrying a semi-automatic rifle. They fired for several minutes. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, stated that one attacker stood approximately two meters away and fired a handgun at him. His son, also present, was shot in the leg. Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative, described the event as a massacre in every sense of the word.

The violence marks a rare incident at a Christian place of worship in Jordan. King Abdullah II ordered a review of the country's security procedures for responding to terrorist attacks. He offered condolences to the families of the victims and declared that those responsible would face the harshest penalties. Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the attack to a group of extremists, though no organization was named. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan characterized the assault as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism.

Authorities have not identified the three fugitives, referring to them as unknown assailants. State television broadcast security footage showing the men shooting outside the church and firing on a group of men attempting to flee. The Karak governorate, located about 120km south of Amman, is home to a large portion of Jordan's roughly 300,000 Christians. Taylor Luck, a senior Middle East correspondent, noted that the community has lived alongside Muslims for generations and is likely to emerge stronger from the event.

The attack has drawn international condemnation from countries including Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, labeled the incident a heinous terrorist attack. The United States embassy in Jordan extended condolences to victims and survivors. The prime minister declared a three-day period of mourning, with flags flown at half-mast over government and public buildings.

Jordan has experienced similar violence in the past. In 2016, ISIL carried out a series of attacks in the Karak area, including a siege on a Crusader-era castle. That incident killed 10 people, including a Canadian tourist and seven police officers. Four attackers were killed by Jordanian security forces during the standoff.

Security forces continue to search for the three gunmen. The motive for the Friday attack remains unclear, and government statements have not specified the ideological group behind the assault beyond general references to extremism.