Seven shot dead by gunmen at church funeral in Jordan, state media say

Seven people have been killed in an attack on a funeral in central Jordan, officials have said.

At least 34 others were injured as gunmen opened fire on a church in Hmoud, in the Karak governorate on Friday.

The unidentified gunmen are reported to have arrived in a car, entered the church and opened fire before fleeing. No-one has admitted carrying out the attack.

Jordan's King Abdullah II said the authorities would "confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties".

Dozens of people had been inside the church for the funeral when the shooting began, Khaled Burqan, one of the mourners, told Jordan's al-Mamlaka state-run TV.

He said two attackers armed with a rifle and a pistol had been firing at the mourners for several minutes.

In a news conference, Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities were working to apprehend the perpetrators which he described as a "group of extremists".

He added that the incident was "painful and horrific" and "unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".

Initial reports indicated seven people had been killed in the attack. A government spokesperson later said six people had died, before officials again revised the death toll to seven.

CCTV footage, verified by the BBC, appears to shows three gunmen making their way from a road toward the church.

Two of the attackers are seen making their way on to what appears to be a vehicle entrance to the church grounds, before retreating briefly and returning with a third man. All three appear to be armed with handguns.

Separate footage believed to be from the aftermath of the attack appears to show several dead and wounded bodies on the ground amid some chaotic scenes.

There was a heavy security presence at the entrance to a hospital treating people injured in the incident in Karak, amid an atmosphere charged with anger among residents of the governorate, particularly the families of those injured and killed.

In his post on X, King Abdullah II said: "Whoever imagines that the bullets of treachery can divide the ranks of Jordanians will fail in his endeavour before our steadfastness and unity."

Public service television station Al-Mamlaka has reported the king arrived in Karak on Friday evening, local time, "to check on the condition of the injured".

Karak has a sizeable Christian community in the majority-Muslim Jordan.

Such violence is rare in the country, but deadly attacks have been carried out in the past.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, a Christian head of state, said the "heinous terrorist attack" on the church "violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners, contradicts all religious and humanitarian values," according to Lebanese media.

Additional reporting by Husam Assal, BBC Arabic.

Related topics