Jordan declares three-day mourning after gunmen kill eight at Karak church

Jordan has declared a three-day national period of mourning following a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. The royal court stated that King Abdullah instructed security forces to hunt down the individuals responsible for the deadly attack.

Eight people were killed and forty others were wounded in the incident. The shooting occurred on Friday during a funeral service. Gunmen fired for several minutes in broad daylight at the church, which is located roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman.

King Abdullah traveled to Karak within hours of the shooting. He directed security forces to respond firmly to the attack. The monarch 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 terrorist ideology and blind extremism.

Authorities have increased security at shopping malls, foreign embassies, and other sites across the country. The US embassy in Amman confirmed these heightened measures. Police are still searching for the perpetrators, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the violence.

Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the attack, told Reuters that one assailant stood about two meters away and aimed a handgun at him. He reported that his son, who was also at the mass, was shot in the leg and is receiving hospital treatment. Al-Burqan said he saw two assailants through a window after the gunfire stopped; one was masked, and the other carried a handgun without a mask.

Officials labeled the event an act of extremist terrorism. They noted it was too early to determine if the attackers had ties to known groups inside or outside Jordan. Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was injured, described the scene at a local hospital as a massacre. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village, called the attack wicked.

Such attacks are rare in the US-allied kingdom. Authorities say they have repeatedly foiled plots by violent groups driven by a strict interpretation of Islam in recent years. Karak is home to a minority Christian population, and the country contains several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.