Jordan Sends Security Forces to Karak After Church Funeral Shooting
Eight people died and forty were wounded when gunmen fired during a Greek Orthodox funeral on Friday.
By Lucia Herrera ·
Jordanian authorities are conducting a search for the gunmen who killed eight people during a church service in Karak on Friday. King Abdullah instructed security forces to respond firmly to the attack, according to the royal court. The shooting occurred in broad daylight at a Greek Orthodox church located roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman.
Officials described the incident as an act of extremist terrorism. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan stated on X that the attack resulted from a terrorist ideology and blind extremism. He added that the government would not allow society to follow that path. The state-run Petra News Agency reported that Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the tragedy.
The US embassy in Amman said the country increased security at shopping malls and foreign embassies in response to the shooting. Officials noted that investigators have not yet determined if the attackers have ties to known groups inside or outside Jordan. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings so far.
King Abdullah traveled to Karak within hours of the gunfire. He vowed to punish the perpetrators with an iron fist. The monarch has been a partner with the United States in efforts to combat violent armed groups in the region. His visit aimed to oversee the initial response to the crisis.
Survivors provided details of the few minutes of shooting that occurred during the funeral. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the attack, told Reuters that one attacker stood about two meters away and fired a handgun at him. Al-Burqan said his son, who was also present, was shot in the leg and received hospital treatment. The lawyer later saw two assailants, one masked and one unmasked, through a window.
Local leaders and residents expressed grief and concern for safety. Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was injured, called the event a massacre in every sense of the word. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, described the attack as wicked and expressed hope that the country would remain safe. Video footage from Saturday showed police patrolling outside the church where the attack took place.
Such attacks are rare in Jordan, which has a minority Christian population and hosts several biblical sites that attract pilgrims. Authorities in the US-allied kingdom said they have foiled multiple plots in recent years by groups driven by a strict interpretation of Islam. The Karak governorate, where the shooting occurred, is home to many of these Christian communities.
Source: Al Jazeera
