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

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

The attack occurred on 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 funeral rites. The attack resulted in eight people killed and forty others wounded, with Jordanian authorities describing what occurred as an 'extremist terrorist act.'

Survivor Nasser Al-Barqan told Reuters that one of the attackers stood about two meters away from him, aimed his pistol at him, and opened fire, adding that his son, who was also present at the service, later called him to tell him he had been shot in the leg and was transported to the hospital. Al-Barqan, a lawyer, said: 'When everything finally quieted down, I looked out the window behind me and saw two [of the attackers]; one was masked and the other was not, and he was carrying a pistol.' Tariq Amarin, whose relative was injured in the attack, said while at the hospital where the wounded were being treated: 'A massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word.'

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

Authorities said the attackers remain at large and that it is too early to determine whether they have links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. No organization claimed responsibility for the attack immediately after it occurred. Jordan announced three days of national mourning, according to the Jordanian News Agency (PETRA). The U.S. Embassy in Amman also reported that authorities heightened security at shopping centers, foreign embassies, and other locations in the wake of the attack. Security cameras had recorded police patrols outside the church on Saturday.

Such attacks are rare in Jordan, but 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, while the Hashemite Kingdom attracts Christian pilgrims from around the world to visit its biblical sites.