Three-Hour Gun Battle Ends Jordan Hunt for Church Attack Suspects
Security forces captured three relatives from a single family in a dawn raid in Karak governorate, ending a search that began after eight people were killed at St George's Church.
By Yuna Fletcher ·
Jordan’s security forces spent the weekend tracking three men who fled after armed attackers killed eight people at a Greek Orthodox church. The suspects were captured in a dawn raid on Monday in the village of al-Jadeeda.
The operation turned into a three-hour gun battle when the men refused to surrender, according to a Jordanian government source. Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh stated that the suspects, all Jordanians, were identified early in the investigation. He said security services used all available means to apprehend them after they hid in an abandoned house.
A senior security official told journalists on Monday that the three suspects are from one family, including two brothers. Authorities have not found ties to other groups, although al-Farrayeh described the attackers as extremists with no relationship to humanity. No specific armed group has claimed responsibility for the Friday attack on St George’s Church in the village of Hamoud.
The Public Security Directorate reported that the suspects sustained injuries during the raid, with one critically wounded. Security forces recovered firearms and ammunition at the hideout, the state news agency Petra reported. The village of al-Jadeeda is located about six minutes by car from Hamoud, where the church sits near a medieval-era castle.
During the initial attack on Friday, armed men stormed the church compound during a funeral procession. Video footage broadcast by Al-Mamlaka TV showed three people shooting outside the church before running toward the entrance. Other footage captured attackers firing on men trying to flee the building. In total, 34 people were wounded in the incident.
King Abdullah II ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist to the attack on the Christian minority. He told the National Security Council on Saturday that the security and safety of Jordanians are a red line. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning, with flags at half-mast over government institutions.
Eight victims were laid to rest in Karak on Sunday in a funeral that drew a large crowd. Their coffins were draped with Jordanian flags as mourners gathered amid a heavy security presence. Karak is home to a small Christian community in a Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between 2 percent and 3 percent of the population.
Source: Al Jazeera
