Jordan: Security Forces Deployed After Karak Church Massacre

King Abdullah II of Jordan directed the country's security apparatus to pursue the gunmen responsible for a fatal attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. The royal court announced the order on Friday, the same day the incident occurred. Eight individuals lost their lives in the shooting, while 40 others sustained injuries.

The violence erupted in broad daylight while a funeral service was in progress. Gunmen opened fire for several minutes inside the facility located approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. Jordanian authorities labeled the incident an act of extremist terrorism. The state-run Petra News Agency reported that the government declared a three-day period of national mourning in response to the tragedy.

The monarch traveled to Karak shortly after the gunfire ceased. He stated that the perpetrators would be punished with an iron fist. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan posted on the social media platform X that the attack stemmed from a terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Hassan added that the nation would not allow society to follow that path.

No organization has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials indicated it was too early to determine if the attackers had connections to known groups inside or outside Jordan. Security measures were intensified at shopping malls, foreign embassies, and other locations across the country, according to the US embassy in Amman. Police continued to search for the individuals involved.

Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, described the scene to Reuters. He stated that an attacker standing about two meters away aimed a handgun at him and fired. Al-Burqan later received a call from his son, who was also present at the mass, reporting that he had been shot in the leg and was receiving hospital treatment. After the gunfire stopped, al-Burqan looked out a window and saw two assailants, one masked and one carrying a handgun.

Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was among the wounded, described the event as a massacre in every sense of the word. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, condemned the attack as wicked. He expressed hope that the country would remain safe. Video footage from Saturday showed police officers patrolling the perimeter of the church.