Three men sought after eight killed in Jordan church shooting
A funeral service in Hamoud was targeted by gunmen on Friday, leaving 40 others wounded and prompting a national security review.
By Olivia Miller ·
Eight people lost their lives during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud on Friday afternoon. The attack left 40 others wounded. Jordanian security forces are currently searching for three suspects who remain at large.
The Ministry of Health reported that seven victims died at the scene. An eighth victim, a woman, died hours later from her injuries. Of the 40 people wounded, 27 remain hospitalized. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak stated that one patient remains in critical condition following surgery.
Survivors described a sudden explosion shortly after the service began. Two attackers arrived by vehicle and were joined by a third man carrying a semi-automatic rifle. They entered the church and fired for several minutes. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, told Reuters that one gunman stood two meters away and fired a handgun at him. His son was also inside and sustained a leg wound.
Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative at the church, described the event as a massacre. Security camera footage broadcast by the state channel Al-Mamlaka shows three people shooting outside the building and firing at a group of men attempting to flee. The suspects have not been publicly identified.
King Abdullah II offered condolences to the families of the victims. He stated that those responsible would face the harshest penalties and ordered a review of the country's security procedures for responding to terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared a three-day period of mourning. Flags were lowered to half-mast over government and public buildings.
Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh attributed the attack to a group of extremists but did not name a specific organization. The prime minister called the incident a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. The motive for the attack remains unclear. Condemnations have been issued by Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, labeled the incident a heinous terrorist attack.
Karak governorate is located 120 kilometers south of Amman. It is home to many of Jordan's approximately 300,000 Christians. The country has a total population of 11.5 million. In 2016, ISIL carried out a series of attacks in the area, including a siege on a Crusader-era castle that killed 10 people.
