Jordan Detains Three Suspects in Karak Church Attack

Jordanian authorities have detained three armed suspects linked to a deadly church attack that killed nine people on Friday.

The arrests followed a shootout on Monday in Karak governorate, located roughly 120 km southwest of Amman. State television reported that security forces found the men hiding in an abandoned house. The suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on officers, who returned the shots. All three men were wounded before being taken into custody. The Public Security Directorate stated that no security personnel were injured and that officials recovered multiple firearms and ammunition from the scene.

The initial violence occurred on Friday during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud. Witnesses described the shooting as lasting several minutes. The attack left nine people dead and 40 others wounded. The Public Security Directorate labeled the perpetrators as extremist terrorists but did not name the suspects or link them to a specific Islamist group. No organization has claimed responsibility for the incident.

King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist to the rare assault on the country's Christian minority. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said officials are examining the circumstances that drive young people toward extremism. He added that anyone found to have participated in the attack would be held accountable. The directorate noted that terrorism has no place among Jordan's population and described the suspects as having met their just fate. Violence of this scale remains unusual in the region, where authorities have previously foiled several Islamist plots.