Three-Day Mourning Declared After Gunmen Kill Seven at Jordan Funeral

Jordan has ordered a three-day period of national mourning after gunmen killed seven people and wounded 40 others during a funeral on Friday. The attack occurred at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, a town located roughly 90 kilometers south of Amman.

State television footage captured the approach of the assailants. Two men carrying pistols fired first, followed by a third individual with a semiautomatic rifle. Witness videos recorded shattered glass and blood pooling on the church floor as mourners fled the building.

Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the church, described the scene as chaotic. He said intense gunfire erupted about 15 minutes after the service began. "It was a weird situation, and heavy gunfire," Halasa said. While he did not see the attackers, he noted that others claimed to have spotted four men. Security services have not confirmed the exact number of assailants involved.

The government stated the attack was carried out by unknown assailants. Officials said investigations are underway at full speed but did not specify whether any gunmen were captured or killed. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour reported that two of the wounded remain in critical condition.

King Abdullah II posted on X that Jordan would confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties. He offered condolences to the families of the victims. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, speaking at a security meeting in Karak, blamed the attack on terrorist ideology and blind extremism. He pledged that legal measures would be taken against those who seek to introduce extremism.

Karak has experienced deadly violence before. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks that included a strike on a Crusader castle. Ten people died in that incident, including seven officers. The current attack drew condemnation from regional leaders, including the grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres called the shooting especially heinous because it happened during a funeral. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the secretary-general called for all those responsible to be found and held to account. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein also expressed solidarity with Jordan following a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart.