Gunmen Kill Eight at Karak Church

Three gunmen remain at large after killing eight people during a Friday afternoon attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud. The shooting occurred in Karak governorate, located roughly 120 kilometers south of the capital Amman. Jordan's Ministry of Health confirmed the death toll and reported that 40 people were wounded in the incident.

Survivors described hearing an explosion shortly after a funeral service began. Two attackers arrived by vehicle and were joined by a third man carrying a semi-automatic rifle. The group entered the church and fired for several minutes. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, stated that one attacker stood two meters away and shot him with a handgun. His son, also present, was shot in the leg and is receiving hospital treatment. Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative, called the event a massacre.

Petra news agency reported that seven victims died at the scene. An eighth victim, a woman, died of her injuries several hours later. Twenty-seven of the wounded remain in hospital. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak said one patient is in critical condition following surgery.

Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the attack to a group of extremists but did not name a specific organization. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan described the act as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. King Abdullah II ordered a review of security procedures for responding to such attacks. He stated that those responsible would face the harshest penalties.

The attack is rare for a Christian place of worship in the kingdom. Karak is home to many of Jordan's roughly 300,000 Christians. The region has a history of coexistence between religious groups. In 2016, ISIS carried out a series of attacks in the area, including a siege on a castle that killed 10 people. Four attackers were killed during a standoff in that incident.

International reactions have included condolences from Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, labeled the event a heinous terrorist attack. The United States embassy in Jordan also sent messages of sympathy to victims and survivors.

The Prime Minister declared three days of national mourning. Flags over government and public buildings were lowered to half-mast. Security forces continue to search for the three unidentified assailants.