AMMAN — Jordan stepped up security at shopping malls, foreign embassies and other locations across the country after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in the southern Karak governorate on Friday, killing seven people and wounding dozens, according to Reuters and Jordanian officials.
The head of Jordan’s Public Security Directorate, Obaidullah Al-Maaytah, told a press conference in Karak that seven people were confirmed dead and 34 injured, with 27 of the wounded receiving treatment in hospitals. Officials had earlier reported six deaths and 28 injuries as the toll was updated during the day. The attack took place during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud village, where survivors described an explosion as the procession began, followed by masked attackers firing for several minutes. One witness told the AFP news agency that between 150 and 200 people were in the church at the time.
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the assault as a terrorist attack carried out by extremists and called it unprecedented. “The security services are working around the clock to reach the perpetrators,” he said, according to published accounts of the press conference. King Abdullah II condemned the attack and said it would be met with the harshest response, according to an official release reported by Jordanian outlets.
Manhunt under way, no claim of responsibility
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Authorities said they were still searching for the attackers and that it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan, according to Reuters. Published accounts differed on the number of attackers seen — state television Al-Mamlaka reported security forces pursuing suspects who had arrived by vehicle, while funeral attendees described two gunmen, one with a rifle and one with a pistol.
The U.S. Embassy in Amman said security had been stepped up at malls, foreign embassies and other locations across Jordan after the attack, according to Reuters. The embassy notice is the clearest sign so far that authorities are treating the shooting as a risk beyond Karak itself while the manhunt continues.
Why it matters
Jordan has long presented itself as an island of stability in a turbulent region, and attacks on religious gatherings are rare. Karak governorate, about 180 kilometres south of Amman, is home to one of the country’s Christian communities, and officials were quick to frame the shooting as an attack on national unity as much as on the congregation itself. Al-Maaytah pledged that “the perpetrators will be caught and our national unity will not be hit.”
What happens next depends on the manhunt and on whether investigators can establish who sent the gunmen. Until an arrest or a claim of responsibility is confirmed, the motive remains unestablished, and Zark News will update this story as Jordanian authorities release verified information.
