Jordanian King Orders Security Sweep After Karak Attack
Eight people were killed and 40 wounded when gunmen opened fire at a funeral in the Karak governorate on Friday.
By Elena Svoboda ·
Jordan has increased security across key infrastructure and diplomatic sites following a shooting at a church in the Karak governorate that left eight people dead and 40 others injured.
The royal court announced that King Abdullah has directed security forces to execute a firm response and locate the individuals responsible for the violence. The attack occurred on Friday in broad daylight at a Greek Orthodox church located approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Amman.
Gunmen fired for several minutes during a funeral service. Jordanian authorities labeled the incident an act of extremist terrorism. No organization has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. The government declared three days of national mourning on Saturday. Officials stated it was premature to determine if the attackers had connections to known domestic or foreign groups.
King Abdullah traveled to Karak shortly after the shooting. He stated that the perpetrators would be punished with an iron fist. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan posted on X that the attack resulted from a terrorist ideology and blind extremism. He added that the society would not allow itself to follow that path.
Survivors provided details of the chaos. Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, told Reuters that an attacker standing about two meters away aimed a handgun at him and fired. His son was also present and suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. Al-Burqan observed two assailants through a window after the gunfire stopped; one was masked, and the other carried a handgun while unmasked.
Tarek Ammarin, a relative of an injured person at a local hospital, described the event as a massacre in every sense. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village in Karak, called the attack wicked and expressed confidence that the country would remain safe. Video footage released on Saturday showed police patrolling the perimeter of the church.
The US embassy in Amman confirmed that security has been tightened at shopping malls and foreign embassies nationwide. Jordan, a US partner in the region, has foiled multiple plots by violent groups in recent years. Karak hosts a minority Christian population and contains biblical sites that attract pilgrims from around the world.
Source: Al Jazeera
