Jordanian King Orders Hunt for Karak Church Gunmen After Eight Killed

Eight people were killed and 40 were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate on Friday. The attack occurred in broad daylight while a funeral was under way, with gunfire lasting several minutes. The royal court said King Abdullah instructed security forces to respond firmly and locate those responsible.

Karak is located roughly 120 kilometers southwest of the capital, Amman. Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the incident, according to the state-run Petra News Agency. Officials stated it was too early to determine if the attackers had ties to known domestic or foreign groups. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the shooting.

US embassy officials reported that Jordan stepped up security at shopping malls, foreign embassies, and other sites across the country. King Abdullah traveled to Karak within hours of the attack. He vowed that the perpetrators would be punished "with an iron fist." Prime Minister Jafar Hassan described the event on X as a result of "a terrorist ideology and blind extremism," adding that society would not be allowed to go down that path.

Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, told Reuters that one attacker stood about two meters away and aimed a handgun at him. After the gunfire stopped, al-Burqan saw two assailants through a window, one masked and the other carrying a handgun. His son, who was also at the mass, called to report he had been shot in the leg and was receiving hospital treatment.

Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was among the wounded, described the scene at a local hospital as "a massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word." Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, called the attack "wicked" and said the country would remain safe. Video footage from Saturday showed police patrolling outside the church.

Jordanian officials labeled the incident an "act of extremist terrorism." Attacks of this nature are rare in the US-allied kingdom, though authorities say they have repeatedly foiled plots in recent years by groups driven by a strict interpretation of Islam. Karak is home to a minority Christian population, and the country contains several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.