Gunmen Kill Seven At Jordan Church As King Vows Retaliation

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Gunmen killed at least seven people and wounded dozens at a church in southern Jordan on Friday, authorities said, and King Abdullah II vowed retaliation for the attack.

“The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” the king said in a post on X. “We will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation.”

Assailants stormed the compound of a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud, in Karak governorate, and opened fire, authorities said.

The public security directorate said in a statement that the gunmen got out of a vehicle and started shooting during a funeral procession. It added that a manhunt was underway for the perpetrators.

Authorities first gave a death toll of six. Director of Public Security Major General Abdullah al-Maaytah later said it had risen to seven, with 34 people injured, 27 of whom were still receiving treatment. Images from state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka showed the king arriving in Karak on Friday evening.

Footage aired by Al-Mamlaka showed the moment of the attack. Two gunmen dressed in casual clothes are seen brandishing pistols, with a third carrying a long gun, before they open fire on the church from an entrance on the street and charge forward.

A witness told Al-Mamlaka the gunmen fired continuously for five minutes before fleeing. The witness said between 150 and 200 people were in and around the church at the time, and that most of the victims were aged between 50 and 70.

“A terrorist group has carried out a horrific act, one that is condemned in every respect, and the security services are working round the clock to track them down,” Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a press conference.“Jordan has been targeted by a terrorist attack carried out by a group of extremists.”

He said the perpetrators had “absolutely no connection whatsoever to human values,” and that the attack “only serves to strengthen the Jordanians’ resolve... to combat and fight terrorism in all its forms.” Minister of Government Communications Mohammed al-Momani said security forces were investigating the attack.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Jordan said that if the attack was aimed at driving Christians out of the holy land, “it will only make us cling to it more firmly and deepen our roots in it.”

It added: “We are absolutely certain that Jordanian society will remain impervious to every dark, extremist ideology, and that this criminal act is far removed from, and alien to, the moderate Islam of our country.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the Arab world’s only Christian head of state, called the shooting a “heinous terrorist attack.” According to a presidency statement, he said it “reaffirms once again that terrorism has no religion and no homeland, and its aim is to strike at coexistence and spread strife.”

Karak is home to a significant Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between 2 and 3 percent of the population.

Attacks on houses of worship in Jordan are rare. In 2016, an attack in Karak targeted a security center and police patrols, leaving 10 people dead. The victims included seven security personnel and a female tourist. Four militants who had barricaded themselves inside Karak’s historic castle were killed.