Jordan Police Detain Three Gunmen After Karak Church Funeral Kills Nine

Jordanian security forces detained three armed men on Monday in connection with a fatal attack at a church in the Karak governorate.

The shooting occurred on Friday during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, located approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. State television reported that nine people died in the incident, while 40 others sustained injuries. Witnesses described the gunfire as lasting for several minutes.

The Public Security Directorate located the three suspects while they were hiding in an abandoned building in Karak. A statement released by the directorate said the men refused to surrender and opened fire on security officers. Police returned the gunfire, wounding all three suspects before taking them into custody. The directorate stated that no security personnel were injured during the exchange and that officers seized multiple firearms and ammunition from the group.

Authorities have labeled the attackers as extremist terrorists, although no organization has yet claimed responsibility for the strike. The directorate did not publish the names of the suspects or identify specific links to Islamist militant organizations. In its official release, the directorate declared that terrorism has no place among the people and stated that the suspects had met their just fate.

King Abdullah, a key partner for the United States in the region, ordered security forces to respond to the rare assault on the country's Christian minority with an iron fist. Jordan is generally considered a stable nation in the Middle East, though officials note they have disrupted several Islamist militant plots in previous years.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said investigators are reviewing the factors that may have driven young people toward extremism. He added that any individual found to have participated in the attack would be held accountable.