King Abdullah orders security crackdown after Karak church attack

Gunmen opened fire in broad daylight at a funeral service inside a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate, killing eight people and wounding forty others. The shooting, which lasted several minutes, occurred on Friday roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. Jordanian officials labeled the incident an act of extremist terrorism.

King Abdullah traveled to Karak within hours of the attack. The royal court reported that he instructed security forces to respond firmly and hunt down those responsible. The king vowed that the perpetrators would be punished with an iron fist. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan stated on X that the violence was the result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism, adding that the nation would not allow society to follow that path.

Authorities have not yet identified the specific group behind the attack. Officials described it as too early to determine if the shooters had ties to known groups inside or outside the country. Jordan declared three days of national mourning on Saturday, according to the state-run Petra News Agency.

In the immediate aftermath, the United States embassy in Amman reported increased security at shopping malls, foreign embassies, and other sites across the country. Police patrols were visible outside the church in video footage released on Saturday. Search efforts for the remaining perpetrators continued.

Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, told Reuters that one attacker stood about two meters away and fired a handgun at him. Al-Burqan later received a phone call from his son, who was also at the mass, confirming he had been shot in the leg and was receiving hospital treatment. Al-Burqan said he saw two assailants through a window after the gunfire stopped; one was masked, and the other carried a handgun.

Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was among the wounded, described the event as a massacre in every sense of the word. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, called the attack wicked and expressed hope that the country would remain safe. Karak hosts a minority Christian population, and the country contains several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims globally.