Three gunmen flee after killing eight in Karak church

Eight people died and 27 remain in hospital after three gunmen attacked a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud on Friday afternoon.

The Ministry of Health confirmed the toll on Saturday. Seven victims died at the scene, and an eighth, a woman, died hours later. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak reported that one patient is in critical condition following surgery. Security forces are searching for the three suspects, whom government statements have described as unknown assailants.

Survivors reported hearing an explosion shortly after the funeral service began. Two attackers arrived in a vehicle, and a third man with a semi-automatic rifle joined them. They entered the church and fired for several minutes. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, told Reuters that one gunman fired a handgun at him from about two metres away. His son, who was also inside, was shot in the leg and is being treated in hospital. Tarek Ammarin, who was visiting an injured relative, called the incident a massacre in every sense of the word.

King Abdullah II offered condolences to the families of the victims and said those responsible would face the harshest penalties. He ordered a review of Jordan's security procedures for responding to terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared three days of mourning, with flags at half-mast over government and public buildings. He described the attack as a product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism.

Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh blamed a group of extremists but did not name a specific organization. The motive remains unclear. Security camera footage broadcast by the state channel Al-Mamlaka shows the three people shooting outside the church and firing on a group of men trying to flee. The attackers have not been identified.

Karak governorate, located about 120km south of Amman, is home to many of Jordan's roughly 300,000 Christians. The country has a population of 11.5 million. Taylor Luck, a senior Middle East correspondent, noted that Christians and Muslims have lived side by side in Karak for generations. He said the community is more likely to emerge stronger if the attack was meant to divide them.

Condemnations arrived from Azerbaijan, Iraq, Poland, Palestine, and Qatar. Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, called it a heinous terrorist attack. The United States embassy in Jordan offered condolences to victims and survivors. Attacks of this kind are uncommon in Jordan, though Karak saw violence in 2016 when ISIL carried out a series of strikes, including a siege on a castle that killed 10 people.