Eight Dead and 40 Injured After Gunmen Storm Greek Orthodox Church in Karak

Three unidentified men are on the run in Jordan after shooting inside a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate on Friday, killing eight people and wounding 40 others. The Ministry of Health confirmed the casualty figures, describing the incident as a rare act of terror at a Christian site in the kingdom. The attack took place during a funeral service in the village of Hamoud, located about 120 kilometers south of Amman.

Survivors reported hearing an explosion shortly after the service began. Two attackers arrived by vehicle, and a third man entered with a semi-automatic rifle. They fired for several minutes before being joined by the third gunman. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, said one assailant fired a handgun from a distance of two meters. His son, also inside the church, was shot in the leg and is receiving treatment in a hospital. Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative, described the scene as a massacre in every sense of the word.

Petra news agency reported that seven victims died at the scene, while an eighth, a woman, succumbed to her injuries hours later. Of the 40 wounded, 27 remain hospitalized. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak stated that one patient is in critical condition following surgery. Security camera footage broadcast by the state channel Al-Mamlaka shows the three individuals shooting outside the church and firing at a group of men attempting to flee.

Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the violence to a group of extremists, though no specific organization has been named. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan characterized the attack as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. The motive remains unclear, and officials have referred to the suspects as unknown assailants. King Abdullah II ordered a review of security procedures for responding to such attacks and promised the harshest penalties for those responsible.

The Karak region is home to a significant portion of Jordan’s approximately 300,000 Christians. Taylor Luck, a senior Middle East correspondent, noted that the community has lived alongside Muslims in Karak for generations. He observed that the attack may strengthen local interfaith solidarity rather than divide it. The prime minister declared three days of national mourning, with flags at half-mast over public buildings. Condemnations have arrived from Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, called the incident a heinous terrorist attack.

Violence of this nature is uncommon in Jordan, although Karak has experienced conflict in the past. In 2016, ISIL carried out a series of attacks in the area, including a siege on a Crusader-era castle that killed 10 people, including a Canadian tourist and seven police officers. Security forces killed four attackers after a prolonged standoff during that event.