Nine killed when gunmen open fire at Jordanian church

Gunmen opened fire inside a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan on Friday, killing nine people and wounding 40 others during a funeral service. The violence struck St George's church in Hamoud, located in Karak governorate, marking a rare direct assault on the country's Christian minority. Officials immediately classified the incident as a terrorist act carried out by extremists.

Maj Gen Abdallah al-Maaytah, head of the Public Security Directorate, stated that most of the injured were receiving treatment while a search for the suspects continued. The health minister confirmed the casualty figures, listing 40 individuals as wounded. Interior minister Mazin Al Farrayeh described the perpetrators as "extremists" but noted that authorities were too early to determine specific ties to known groups inside or outside Jordan. No organization has formally claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Footage from a security camera at the church, broadcast on state television, showed three individuals firing from a pavement toward the building. The attackers sheltered behind trees and a low wall before running toward the entrance. Reuters verified the video by matching the entry path and surrounding architectural details. Witnesses described a chaotic scene where the gunfire lasted several minutes. Priest Theodoros Soueiss recalled telling the congregation to get down, noting that "a sense of panic took hold among those present." Ihab Ammareen, another attendee, described seeing bloodied people collapse on the floor while others wailed and screamed.

Prime minister Jafar Hassan posted on X that the attack was a result of "a result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism." King Abdullah visited Karak within hours of the incident, promising the perpetrators would be punished "with an iron fist." He added that those who believe they can divide Jordanians with bullets "have no chance in the face of our unity."

Following the shooting, the US embassy in Amman reported that security measures had been increased at malls, foreign embassies, and other sites across the country. UN secretary general António Guterres condemned the violence, calling attacks on places of worship unacceptable. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, labeled the incident a "depraved and brutal attack." Jordan, a US partner in the region, had previously suffered Iranian attacks this year after strikes on Tehran in February. Christians remain a small minority in the kingdom, which hosts several biblical sites that attract global pilgrims.

Outside a government hospital in Karak, residents gathered to support the wounded. Hani Al-Mbaydeen expressed the community's shock, stating that the state must investigate where "dark ideas" originate and "how they enter the minds of our children."