Jordan said late Monday that its armed forces had struck "militant hideouts" in southern Syria, which it said were linked to a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan last week. Syria gave a different account, saying it had launched an investigation into the Jordanian attacks.1,5,6
Jordan's armed forces said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Damascus and that the church attack was linked to "terrorist groups" hiding in Syria. France 24 reported that the military said air force jets had "destroyed several terrorist positions" and killed and wounded "numerous members" of groups linked to the perpetrators of the attack.5,6
Syrian state media reported that civilians had been killed in the strikes in Daraa province. The figures differ. DW reported that a health official told Syria's state news agency that at least five civilians, including women and children, were killed, citing Reuters. France 24 reported that the director of health for the region told the state-run SANA news agency that at least eight civilians had been killed, including women, children and a 65-year-old man. The reports do not say what Syria's investigation has found.5,6
The attack took place on Friday during a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud, in Karak governorate, south of Amman. Early reports differed on the toll. The Daily Caller, citing the Associated Press in a report published Oct. 24, said officials placed the death toll at seven and the number wounded at 40. CBS News and DW later reported nine people killed, with CBS saying more than two dozen were wounded. The Daily Caller reported that Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said two of the wounded were in critical condition, and that the director of public security, Obeidallah Maaytah, said 27 of the injured were still receiving treatment, according to International Christian Concern. The Associated Press reported that images aired by Jordanian state television showed two attackers with pistols and a third with a semiautomatic rifle. Others reported four attackers, but the news agency could not confirm that count.4,3,5
A mourner inside the church, Dorgham Halasa, told the Associated Press 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.4
Jordan's Public Security Directorate said three men were arrested early Monday after a dawn shootout. Officials said the men were found in an abandoned house in Karak governorate and had barricaded themselves inside and opened fire on security forces. All three were wounded, and no security personnel were injured. The directorate said a number of weapons and a large quantity of ammunition were seized from the suspects. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.3,5,6
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya identified the three men as those responsible. "The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act," he said in a phone interview with state TV Al-Mamlaka. "They put up fierce resistance against the security forces, but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries." He also said the attackers were all Jordanians who "had been holed up in a building in one of the villages near the site of the attack." "There is no indication of any external contacts or collaboration with foreign parties," he said.3,6
Accounts differ on how officials described the suspects' affiliation. France 24 reported that the suspects, two brothers and another man related by marriage, were Islamic extremists, according to the director of public security, Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Maaytah. Reuters reported, as cited by CBS News, that the directorate had not named the suspects or pointed to any possible links to Islamist militant groups. The Daily Caller reported, citing CBS News, that the interior minister had tied the shooting to a group of extremists.6,3,4
King Abdullah II, in a post on X, said security forces "chased them to the very end." He wrote, "We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated," and added, "We will show them." Earlier, he had written that "the terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation." France 24 reported that the king visited wounded victims in hospital, dressed in military fatigues and carrying a pistol on his hip.6,4
Government communications minister Mohammad al-Momani said of the church attack, "we stand ready and will strike with an iron fist, without mercy or leniency, against anyone who attempts to undermine Jordan's security." Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, the Daily Caller reported, blamed extremist ideology during a security meeting in Karak. A government statement issued earlier had blamed unidentified assailants, the Associated Press reported, and Hassan had ordered three days of national mourning, with flags flown at half-mast.6,4
Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, called the assault a "heinous terrorist attack," according to the Associated Press. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun used the same description, according to CBS News. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack as "especially heinous" and called for accountability.4
Karak is home to a significant Christian community in Jordan, where Christians make up between two and three percent of the population, France 24 reported. Attacks on houses of worship in Jordan are rare, it said, and an attack in Karak in 2016 targeted a security centre and police patrols, leaving 10 people dead. Some 3,000 people attended a funeral on Oct. 25 for the victims of the attack, CBS News reported. Eight of the nine victims were buried on Sunday next to the church, in a funeral with a large security presence, AFP images showed. The ninth, Mohammed al-Qasous, was buried in south Amman on Monday.6,3
The suspects will be investigated and brought before the courts, Al-Maaytah said. Under Jordanian law, murder is punishable by death by hanging, France 24 reported.6
