Jordan increases security as search continues for gunmen behind deadly church attack
Security measures were increased across Jordan as authorities searched for gunmen who killed eight people and injured 40 during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church.
Amman, Jordan. The US embassy in Amman said on Saturday that security measures had been increased at shopping malls, foreign diplomatic missions and other sites throughout Jordan. Authorities were searching for gunmen responsible for a church attack that left eight dead and 40 injured.
Gunmen opened fire during funeral
The shooting took place on Friday during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. The attackers opened fire in daylight, continuing for several minutes, in an assault Jordanian authorities characterised as extremist terrorism.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. Authorities said the search for the gunmen was continuing and that they could not yet establish whether the attackers were connected to known groups within Jordan or abroad.
Footage recorded by Reuters on Saturday showed officers patrolling outside Hamoud church, approximately 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Amman.
Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was injured, spoke at a hospital treating those wounded. He described the attack as: “A massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word,”
Jordanian leaders condemn attack
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan wrote on X that terrorist ideology and blind extremism were behind the violence, saying the authorities would not permit society to follow that course.
King Abdullah travelled to Karak within hours of the shooting. He said those responsible would face punishment “with an iron fist”.
The king is a US partner in efforts to combat militant Islamist organisations. Attacks of this kind are uncommon in Jordan, a US-allied kingdom whose authorities say they have disrupted Islamist militant plots repeatedly over recent years.
Religious and regional context
Christians constitute a minority in Jordan, which has several biblical locations drawing Christian pilgrims from across the world.
Jordan is also among Washington’s Middle Eastern allies that have faced Iranian attacks this year, following strikes launched against Iran by the United States and Israel in February.
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