Karak Church Shooting Kills Seven, Wounds 40

Seven people died and 40 others were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a funeral in Jordan on Friday. The attack occurred at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, a town located roughly 90 kilometers, or 55 miles, south of the capital, Amman. Authorities confirmed the casualty counts in an official report.

Footage from Jordanian state television showed two men armed with pistols approaching the church and firing their weapons. A third man, carrying a semiautomatic rifle, joined them and opened fire before all three ran toward the building. Witness videos captured the aftermath, showing shattered glass and pools of blood on the church floor.

Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the church, described the chaos. He said heavy gunfire began about 15 minutes after the service started, causing attendees to flee. "It was a weird situation, and heavy gunfire," Halasa said. He did not see the attackers personally but noted that other mourners reported spotting four individuals. The Associated Press could not independently verify the number of assailants, and Jordan's security services did not provide immediate details on the count.

The government stated that the attack was carried out by unknown assailants. Officials said investigations were underway at full speed but did not indicate whether any gunmen had been captured or killed. Jordan has declared three days of national mourning in response to the violence.

Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour reported that two of the 40 wounded individuals are in critical condition. King Abdullah II posted on X that the country will confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties. He offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wished recovery for the wounded.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan spoke at a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening. He described the attack as the product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Hassan said legal measures would be taken against those seeking to introduce extremism and that the attackers would be punished.

Karak has a minority Christian population and has experienced deadly violence previously. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in the town, killing ten people, seven of whom were officers. The attack drew condemnation from regional leaders, including the grand imam of Al-Azhar and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called the shooting especially heinous because it occurred during a funeral.