Jordanian security forces arrested three men on Monday after a dawn shootout in Karak governorate, in connection with an attack on a Greek Orthodox church that killed nine people during a funeral on Friday.1,3,5
The Public Security Directorate said the three suspects were wounded in the operation, and that they had been cornered in an abandoned house where they had barricaded themselves and opened fire on security forces. No members of the security forces were injured, and officials said the forces recovered firearms and a large quantity of ammunition. The house was in Karak, which lies about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, according to DW. Karak is home to a significant Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between two and three percent of the population, France 24 reported.1,3,5
The attack took place on Friday at St George's Church in the village of Hammoud, where gunmen stormed the compound during a funeral procession, authorities said. Daily Caller, citing the Associated Press, reported that images aired by Jordanian state television showed two attackers with pistols firing as they approached the church, and that a third arrived with a semiautomatic rifle and joined the shooting before the group rushed the building. Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the church, told the AP that gunfire broke out about 15 minutes into the service. "It was a weird situation, and heavy gunfire," Halasa said. He did not see the attackers, and while others reported four of them, the news agency could not confirm that count.4,5,1
Nine people were killed, according to CBS News, DW and France 24. CBS said the attack wounded more than two dozen people, while DW put the number of injured at around 40. Daily Caller reported earlier figures from the AP, which had placed the death toll at seven and the wounded at 40. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said two of the wounded remained in critical condition. Daily Caller also reported, citing the International Christian Concern, that 27 of the injured were still receiving treatment, according to Obeidallah Maaytah, director of public security. France 24 gave the director's name as Abdullah Al-Maaytah.1,3,4,5
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the arrests in a phone interview with the state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka. "The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act," Al-Faraya said. He said the suspects "put up fierce resistance but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries." He added that there were "three individuals involved" who had been "identified early on in the wake of the terrorist incident."3,5
Public Security Directorate officials gave further details at a press conference. "All three terrorists have been injured. They have been taken to hospital and are still receiving treatment," Major General Abdullah Al-Maaytah said at the press conference. He said the arrested suspects were two brothers and another man related to them by marriage, and that they were Islamic extremists. He said they would be investigated and brought before the courts. One of the suspects was reported by Al-Mamlaka to be in critical condition.5
Officials offered differing accounts of who was responsible. The interior minister tied the shooting to a group of extremists, according to CBS News, as cited by Daily Caller. Earlier, a government statement had blamed unidentified assailants and said the investigation was advancing, the AP reported. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan blamed extremist ideology during a security meeting in Karak. Al-Faraya said there was "no indication of any external contacts or collaboration with foreign parties."4,5,1
King Abdullah II said in a post on X that security forces "chased them to the very end." "We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated," he wrote. Earlier, the king visited wounded victims in hospital, wearing military fatigues and carrying a pistol on his hip. "We will show them," he vowed. In a separate post, he pledged that Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties," Daily Caller reported.5,4
Government Communications Minister Mohammad al-Momani said, "we stand ready and will strike with an iron fist, without mercy or leniency, against anyone who attempts to undermine Jordan's security." Maaytah said, "This country must remain an oasis of security and stability, and we affirm that Jordan will remain impervious to anyone who dares to challenge it."5
Leaders outside Jordan also responded. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, called the assault a "heinous terrorist attack," according to the AP. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun used the same description, CBS News reported. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack as "especially heinous" and called for accountability.4,1
Attacks on houses of worship in Jordan are rare, France 24 reported. Accounts of an earlier attack in Karak differ. Daily Caller reported that in 2016 gunmen ambushed police and hit a tourist castle, killing 10 people, seven of them officers, and that security forces killed the gunmen after a standoff. France 24 reported that the 2016 attack targeted a security centre and police patrols and also left 10 people dead. France 24 also noted that under Jordanian law, murder is punishable by death by hanging.4,5
Prime Minister Hassan ordered three days of national mourning for the victims, with flags flown at half-mast over government and public institutions. Eight of the nine victims were buried on Sunday next to the church, in a funeral that drew a huge crowd amid a large security presence, AFP images showed. The ninth victim, Mohammed al-Qasous, was buried in south Amman on Monday.5,4
The reports did not say when the three suspects would appear in court or what charges they might face. Maaytah said only that they would be investigated and brought before the courts, and that Jordan would remain, as he put it, "impervious to anyone who dares to challenge it."5
