Seven Killed In Jordan Church Funeral Shooting

Seven mourners were killed and 40 wounded when gunmen opened fire at a funeral inside a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, on Friday. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said two of the wounded are in critical condition. The town sits about 90 kilometers south of Amman.

State television footage showed two men with pistols walking toward the church and firing, followed by a third man carrying a semiautomatic rifle. Witness video from inside showed shattered glass and blood on the floor. Dorgham Halasa, a mourner, said heavy gunfire began about 15 minutes after the service started and people began to run. He said others told him they had spotted four attackers; authorities have not confirmed the number.

Jordan's government said the attack was carried out by unknown assailants and that investigations are underway at full speed. The kingdom declared three days of national mourning. King Abdullah II wrote on X that Jordan will confront the act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties, and offered condolences to the families. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, speaking at a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening, described the attack as the product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism.

Karak is home to a minority Christian population and has seen deadly violence before. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks there, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists. Ten people were killed, seven of them officers, and dozens were wounded. Jordanian security forces killed those gunmen after a long standoff.

Condemnation came from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Oman. In Cairo, Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, called the shooting a heinous terrorist attack. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein phoned his Jordanian counterpart to affirm Iraq's solidarity. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the attack especially heinous because it took place during a funeral, with spokesman Stephane Dujarric adding that those responsible must be found and held to account.

No arrests have been announced. Jordanian security services have not provided details on the assailants or whether any were captured or killed. Health authorities continue to treat the 40 wounded, two of them in critical condition.