7 dead, 40 wounded after gunmen open fire during funeral at Greek Orthodox church in Jordan
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.
Gunfire erupted roughly 15 minutes after funeral started, witness says
The Associated Press
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Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.
The shooting took place at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 180 kilometres south of the capital, Amman.
Footage broadcast on Jordanian state television showed two gunmen, apparently armed with pistols, approaching the church and firing shots. A third man, apparently carrying a semi-automatic rifle, then approached and fired before all three ran toward the church.
Video taken by witnesses showed broken glass and pools of blood on the church floor.
Unclear if any gunmen captured, killed
Dorgham Halasa, who was among the mourners inside the church, said intense gunfire erupted about 15 minutes after the funeral began and people started running.
"It was a weird situation, and heavy gunfire," Halasa said.
He did not see the gunmen but said other people reported seeing four of them. The Associated Press could not independently verify the number of assailants, and Jordan's security services did not immediately release details.
Gendarmerie forces are seen standing guard outside Al-Karak Government Hospital, where some of the injured persons are being treated. (Alaa Al-Sukhni/Reuters)
A government statement said that the attack was "carried out by unknown assailants" but did not say whether any gunmen had been captured or killed. It said "investigations are underway at full speed."
Jordan declared three days of national mourning, according to the kingdom's Petra News Agency.
Karak is home to a minority Christian population.
In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks in Karak, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people, including seven officers and a Canadian tourist, and wounding dozens. Jordanian security forces killed those gunmen after a long standoff.
2 people in critical condition
Jordan's Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said two of the wounded are in critical condition.
A view of the interior of the church is seen, through a shattered window, on Friday. (The Associated Press)
King Abdullah II said on X that Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties" and offered his "deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, and our wishes for recovery to the wounded."
Jordan's Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said during a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening that the attack was the result of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. He said the assailants would be punished and legal measures taken against those who seek to introduce extremism.
Condemnation of the killings came from around the region, including from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Oman.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein called his Jordanian counterpart and "affirmed Iraq's solidarity with Jordan in the face of terrorism," Hussein's office said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack during a funeral as "especially heinous," spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
"The secretary-general also calls for all those responsible to be found and to be held to account."
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