Gunmen Open Fire at Church Funeral in Southern Jordan: 7 Killed, 34 Wounded, Interior Minister Calls It a Terrorist Attack
Gunmen opened fire on mourners during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hmood in Jordan's southern Karak Governorate on October 23. At a news conference, Jordan's director of public security, Obaidullah Al-Maaytah, gave the latest toll as seven people killed and 34 wounded, with 27 of the wounded still receiving treatment in hospital, Jordan's Public Security Directorate said. CNN reported that the church was St. George's Greek Orthodox Church. A witness told Jordanian state television Al-Mamlaka that between 150 and 200 people were inside and around the church at the time.
The casualty figures were revised several times during the day: Jordanian state media initially reported seven people killed, the Public Security Directorate then put the toll at six killed and 28 wounded, and at 18:00 local time the director of public security updated the figures at a news conference to seven killed and 34 wounded. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a news conference in Karak that the attack was carried out by an extremist group and was an unprecedented terrorist attack, and that security services were working around the clock to reach the perpetrators. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan chaired a Security Council meeting in Karak the same day to follow the response. Amman's attorney-general, Hassan al-Abdallat, ordered a ban on publishing news, information, photographs and video related to the investigation of the case, with an exception for official government media.
Witness Tamer Halasa told Al-Mamlaka that the gunmen arrived by car and two men got out and began shooting, one of them carrying an AK-47 rifle, and that the gunfire continued for several minutes before the attackers fled. Footage broadcast by Jordanian state television also showed a third man firing a semiautomatic rifle toward the church. Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said security forces were pursuing the gunmen and investigating the attack. No group had claimed responsibility as of publication.
King Abdullah II said on X that Jordan would confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties, offering his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and his wishes for the recovery of the wounded. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun issued a statement condemning the shooting as a terrorist attack.
Karak is home to a Christian community, and Christians make up about 2 percent of Jordan's population; attacks of this kind on churches are rare in Jordan. In December 2016, gunmen carried out a series of attacks in Karak, ambushing police and attacking near a Crusader castle, killing 10 people, including seven police officers, before the gunmen were killed after a long standoff with Jordanian security forces.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：约旦卡拉克（Karak）十字军城堡与山下城镇远景资料图，本次枪击发生在卡拉克省 Hmood 村。摄影：Justwiki，CC0，维基共享资源。Photo: File photo of Kerak Castle overlooking the town of Karak, Jordan; the shooting took place in the village of Hmood in Karak Governorate. Photo by Justwiki, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-23Gunmen Open Fire at Church Funeral in Southern Jordan: 7 Killed, 34 Wounded, Interior Minister Calls It a Terrorist AttackThis story
- 2026-10-24Follow-up: Death Toll in Jordan Church Funeral Shooting Rises to 9 as Survivor Describes Gunmen Firing Into the Dying
- 2026-10-26Follow-Up: Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Karak Church Attack After Shootout at Abandoned House
- 2026-10-27Follow-Up: Jordan Airstrikes Kill 7 in Southern Syria; Syria Closes Nassib Crossing, Denies Coordination
