Three Gunmen Kill Seven at Hammoud Church Funeral in Karak

Three armed men killed at least seven people and wounded 34 others on Friday when they opened fire on a Greek Orthodox church in Hammoud, a village in Jordan's Karak governorate. The attack occurred during a funeral procession, marking a rare violent incident against Christians in the majority Sunni Muslim kingdom.

Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya addressed reporters at a press conference to confirm the casualty count. He stated that a group of extremists was responsible for the shooting. The public security directorate reported that the assailants exited a vehicle and stormed the church compound before firing their weapons.

State broadcaster Al-Mamlaka aired footage of the incident, showing two gunmen in casual clothing holding pistols and a third carrying a long gun. The attackers fired from a street entrance and advanced into the facility. A manhunt for the perpetrators remained underway as of Friday.

An eyewitness who spoke to the state broadcaster described the vehicle pulling up to the church. The witness said the gunmen fired without pause for five minutes before escaping. The witness estimated that between 150 and 200 people were present in and around the church at the time. Most victims were aged between 50 and 70.

King Abdullah II pledged the harshest retaliation against those responsible for the attack. He posted on social media that every Jordanian life is precious and that the nation would strike with an iron fist against those who threaten it. Mohammed Al-Momani, the Minister of Government Communications, said security forces were investigating the attack.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the only Christian head of state in the Arab world, condemned the shooting as a heinous terrorist attack. A presidency statement said the incident reaffirms that terrorism has no religion or homeland and aims to strike at coexistence and spread strife.

Karak has experienced deadly violence in the past. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks in the area, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists. Ten people were killed in that series of incidents, seven of them officers, while dozens were wounded. Security forces killed the attackers after a lengthy standoff.