Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding 34 others, according to the country’s Public Security Directorate. The attack, which struck the church in the village of Hamoud in the Karak governorate, prompted King Abdullah II to condemn what he called a terrorist attack and to promise what he described as the harshest retaliation.
What happened at the church in Karak
The shooting began as mourners gathered for a funeral procession at the church, a compound that also serves the small Christian community in the area. According to the Public Security Directorate, the assailants arrived in a vehicle, stormed the church compound, and opened fire on the congregation before fleeing the scene. Security forces were quickly deployed to the village, and a manhunt for the attackers was under way by Friday evening.
The head of the Public Security Directorate, Major General Obaidullah Al-Maaytah, confirmed the casualty figures at a press conference in Karak on Friday. He said seven people had been killed and 34 wounded, with 27 of the wounded still receiving treatment in hospitals. Earlier in the day, officials had given a lower preliminary toll before revising it upward as the scale of the attack became clear.
Survivors described moments of panic as the gunfire erupted. Mourners told Al Jazeera they heard an explosion as the funeral procession was beginning, followed by masked attackers forcing their way into the church and shooting for several minutes. A funeral attendee, Khaled Burqan, told the state-owned broadcaster Al-Mamlaka that dozens of people were at the procession and that one of the assailants carried a pistol while another carried a rifle. A witness quoted by Al-Mamlaka said between 150 and 200 people were in and around the church at the time, and that most of the victims appeared to be between 50 and 70 years old.
Video aired by Al-Mamlaka that appeared to come from a security camera mounted on the church showed armed men firing from a sidewalk before moving toward the church entrance. Jordanian authorities had not identified the attackers as of Friday evening, and no group had claimed responsibility for the shooting.
King Abdullah and officials respond
King Abdullah II responded forcefully within hours of the attack. In a post on X, he said the shooting would be confronted with force and declared that it would not break national unity. “The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” he wrote. “Those who delude themselves into thinking that they can divide Jordanians with their bullets have no chance in the face of our unity. All Jordanians, from north to south, are partners in land and fate, and nothing stands between them.”
The king added a direct warning to those behind the violence: “Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation.” Footage aired by Al-Mamlaka showed the king arriving in Karak on Friday evening and visiting the injured in hospital to check on their condition.
Queen Rania also condemned the violence, describing it in a post on X as a “heinous crime against worshippers in Karak” that had affected all Jordanians. “Our hearts are with our people of Karak,” she wrote.
Jordan’s Interior Minister, Mazen Al Faraya, called the attack “unprecedented” in the kingdom’s history and said it had been carried out by a “group of extremists” with, in his words, “no relationship to humanity.” He said the government was doing everything it could to find the culprits and insisted the country would not be dragged toward extremism and terrorism. “Jordanians reject this cowardly terrorist act,” he said during a press conference alongside the Public Security Directorate chief.
International condemnation followed. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, noting that “an attack not only on a place of worship but during a funeral procession is especially heinous.” The foreign ministry of the United Arab Emirates also condemned what it called “terrorist and criminal acts,” saying it rejected all forms of violence aimed at undermining security and stability.
A rare attack in a stable kingdom
Violence of this kind is extremely rare in Jordan, a country widely regarded as one of the most stable in the region. Christians, numbering about 300,000 people, form a small minority in a population of roughly 11.5 million, and the kingdom is home to several biblical sites that draw Christian pilgrims from around the world.
The attack was not the first to shake Karak. In 2016, fighters from the armed group ISIL (ISIS) holed up in the town’s Crusader-era castle and killed 10 people, including security officers and a Canadian tourist, before Jordanian security forces shot and killed the attackers. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said Karak’s Christian and Muslim communities have lived side by side for generations and are known for interfaith solidarity, and they expressed hope that the community would emerge from the attack united rather than divided.
What happens next
As of Friday evening, the search for the gunmen was continuing, with Jordanian security forces deployed across the Karak governorate and investigations under way at full speed. Authorities had not announced any arrests or publicly identified suspects, and no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The king’s vow of retaliation signals that a forceful response is expected in the coming days, while officials continue to gather evidence about who carried out the shooting and why. This is a developing story, and Jordanian authorities have urged the public to rely on official statements as the investigation unfolds.
