Jordan Detains Three Wounded Gunmen After Karak Church Funer
Security forces found the armed suspects hiding in an abandoned home after nine people were killed during a funeral in the village of Hamoud.
By Lorenzo Evans ·
Jordanian security forces detained three armed men on Monday following a firefight in the Karak governorate.
The incident is linked to a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, located roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. The attack occurred on Friday during a funeral and left nine people dead. Another forty individuals were wounded, with witnesses reporting that the gunfire continued for several minutes.
State television reported that the suspects were discovered hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. The Public Security Directorate stated that the men refused to surrender and opened fire on security personnel, who returned the attack. All three suspects were wounded before being taken into custody. Officials confirmed that no security forces were injured and that several firearms and ammunition were recovered from the scene.
The directorate labeled the perpetrators as extremist terrorists, though it did not name the individuals or link them to a specific Islamist group. No group has formally claimed responsibility for the violence. King Abdullah, a partner to the United States in the region, has ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist to the rare attack on the country's Christian minority.
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said officials are examining the circumstances that drive young people toward extremism. He added that anyone found to have participated in the attack would be held accountable. Jordan is generally considered a stable state in the Middle East, and authorities have foiled several Islamist plots in previous years.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
