Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in a village in Jordan's Karak governorate on Friday, killing seven people and wounding dozens, officials said.1,3,4
Obaidallah Maaytah, Jordan's public security director, said seven people were killed and 34 wounded, and that 27 of the injured were receiving hospital treatment. The BBC also reported at least 34 injured. Al Jazeera's report said 10 others were wounded, and the reports do not reconcile the two figures.1,3,4
The death toll also changed during the day. The BBC reported that initial reports indicated seven people had been killed, that a government spokesperson later said six had died, and that officials then revised the toll again to seven. Jordanian sources told Al Jazeera that at least seven people were confirmed dead.1,4
Accounts of the attackers differ. The BBC said the unidentified gunmen arrived in a car, entered the church and opened fire before fleeing, and that no one had admitted carrying out the attack. The BBC said CCTV footage it verified appears to show three gunmen approaching the church, all apparently armed with handguns. DW said two men opened fire on the funeral procession. Al Jazeera, citing the state-owned station Al-Mamlaka, reported that two suspects got out of a vehicle before firing, and funeral attendee Khaled Burqan told the station that one assailant carried a pistol and the other a rifle.1,3,4
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the attackers as a "group of extremists" at a news conference, saying authorities were working to apprehend the perpetrators. He called the attack "painful and horrific" and said it was "unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." DW, citing the Jordanian outlet Roya News, reported that al-Faraya said authorities already had the names of suspects but would not disclose them for now. DW also said the attackers' identities and motives remain unclear.1,3
King Abdullah II said authorities would "confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties," the BBC reported, while DW reported that he vowed "the harshest retaliation." Government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani said security forces had launched a probe into the attack.1,3
A male witness told the BBC, "I heard something as if a war had just started," adding, "I thought it was an electrical short circuit." A woman in the church said explosions rang out seconds after a prayer, followed by the sound of machine guns. The BBC reported that a witness estimated the attack lasted about 15 minutes, while the woman described the situation as having "continued to escalate for 10 continuous minutes." The BBC also reported that between 150 and 200 people were in the church at the time of the shooting, according to one witness.1
At the hospital treating the injured in Karak, the BBC reported, there was a heavy security presence, roads were closed around the facility, and many people looked distressed. Security was also tightened ahead of a visit by the king to check on the injured. The BBC said some residents expressed frustration at what they described as "a failure to take a tougher approach towards terrorists."1
Karak has a sizeable Christian community in the majority-Muslim Jordan, the BBC said, and such violence is rare in the country, though deadly attacks have been carried out in the past. Al Jazeera said Christians make up a minority of Jordan's population of roughly 11.5 million, though the country is home to several biblical sites that attract Christians from around the world.1,4
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, a Christian head of state, described the "heinous terrorist attack" on the church as having "violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners, contradicts all religious and humanitarian values," according to Lebanese media, the BBC reported.1
No one has admitted carrying out the attack, the BBC reported, and Al Jazeera reported there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Al Jazeera reported that Jordanian authorities had not said who was responsible, while the interior minister had described the attackers as a group of extremists. Security forces are investigating, and DW reported the attackers' identities and motives remain unclear.1,3,4
