King Abdullah Orders 'Iron Fist' Response Against Karak Church Attack Perpetrators

King Abdullah II has ordered Jordanian security forces to pursue those behind the attack on a church in Karak Governorate and deal with them with an "iron fist," according to a Royal Court announcement. The King visited Karak within hours of the attack.

The shooting occurred Friday in broad daylight when gunmen opened fire for several minutes inside a Greek Orthodox church in Karak Governorate, approximately 120 kilometers southwest of the capital Amman, during a funeral service. The attack resulted in eight deaths and forty injuries, with Jordanian authorities describing the incident as an "act of extremist terrorism."

Survivor Naser Al-Burgan told Reuters that one of the attackers stood about two meters away from him, aimed a pistol at him, and opened fire. He added that his son, who was also present at the service, later called him to say he had been shot in the leg and was transported to hospital. Al-Burgan, a lawyer, said: "When everything finally calmed down, I looked out the window behind me and saw two of them—one was masked and the other was not, and he was carrying a pistol." Tariq Amarin, whose relative was wounded in the attack, said while being treated at the hospital receiving the wounded: "A massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word."

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan described the attack on the X platform as "the product of terrorist ideology and blind extremism," adding: "We will not allow society to move down this path." Bahjat Al-Rashdi, mayor of the village of Shihan in Karak, joined the list of officials condemning what he called the "heinous" attack, saying: "God willing, this country will remain safe."

Authorities said the attackers remain at large and that it is premature to determine whether they have connections to known groups inside or outside Jordan. No group claimed responsibility for the attack immediately after it occurred. Jordan declared three days of national mourning, according to the Jordan News Agency Petra. The U.S. Embassy in Amman reported that authorities raised security levels at shopping centers, foreign embassies, and other locations in the wake of the attack. Security cameras recorded police patrols outside the church on Saturday.

Such attacks are rare in Jordan, though authorities in the kingdom, which is allied with Washington, say they have repeatedly thwarted plots by extremist groups. Karak Governorate is home to a Christian minority, and the Hashemite Kingdom attracts Christian pilgrims from around the world to visit its biblical sites.