Jordan’s King Abdullah orders firm response after deadly church attack
Authorities are still searching for the attackers and say it is too early to determine if they had ties to known groups.
Key points
- Jordan's King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond firmly after a church attack in Karak governorate killed eight people and wounded 40.
- Assailants fired for several minutes during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church about 120km southwest of Amman, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.
- Jordan declared three days of national mourning and increased security at malls and foreign embassies while authorities searched for the attackers.
Jordan's King Abdullah has directed security forces to respond firmly and pursue those behind a church attack in Karak governorate that killed eight people and wounded 40, the royal court said. The king visited Karak hours after the attack and said the perpetrators would be punished "with an iron fist".
On Friday, assailants fired for several minutes in broad daylight during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate, about 120km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman. Jordanian authorities described the shooting as an "act of extremist terrorism", and no group immediately claimed responsibility.
Security tightened across the country
Security was increased at malls, foreign embassies and other locations across Jordan in response to the attack, according to the US embassy in Amman. Authorities said they were still searching for the attackers and that it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. Video footage showed police patrolling outside the church on Saturday.
A massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word
— Tarek Ammarin
Official and witness reactions
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said on X that the attack was "a result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism" and that society would not be allowed down that path. Jordan declared three days of national mourning, according to the kingdom's Petra News Agency.
Survivor Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer, told Reuters that one attacker stood about two metres (6.5 feet) away and pointed a handgun at him. He later learned his son had been shot in the leg and was being treated in hospital. At a hospital treating the wounded, Tarek Ammarin, a relative of one of the injured, called it "a massacre". Such attacks are rare in Jordan, though authorities say they have repeatedly foiled plots in recent years.
