Jordan Searches for Gunmen After Deadly Church Attack Kills Nine in Karak

Gunmen attacked a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan's Karak governorate during a funeral on Friday, killing nine people and wounding about 40, Al Jazeera and ABC News reported. Authorities are still searching for the attackers, and no group has claimed responsibility.

Jordan's King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond firmly and pursue those behind the shooting, according to the royal court, as cited by Al Jazeera.

What happened at the church

Eight people were confirmed dead on Friday, and a ninth wounded person died on Saturday, state news agency Petra reported, citing Jordan Public Security. Al Jazeera put the number of wounded at 40, while ABC said nearly 40 were hurt. Jordanian authorities called the shooting an act of extremist terrorism and said the assailants fired for several minutes in broad daylight, Al Jazeera reported.

The two outlets differ on where Karak sits in relation to Amman: Al Jazeera put it about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital, while ABC said about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south.

A witness, Saed al-Halaseh, told ABC that people had gathered for the funeral and some were chatting outside when a noise like an engine backfiring was heard. He said three masked men with automatic weapons then appeared and fired at those standing outside. According to him, they returned to shoot people who had already been hit and also fired at the church facade. He said he dropped to the ground and crawled behind a car.

Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived, told Reuters, as cited by Al Jazeera, that an attacker pointed a handgun at him and fired. He later learned that his son, who was also at the service, had been shot in the leg and was in a hospital.

How Jordan's leaders responded

King Abdullah visited Karak hours after the attack and said the perpetrators would be punished "with an iron fist," Al Jazeera reported. ABC said he described them as outlaws of Islam and as people trying to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said on X that the attack resulted from terrorist ideology and blind extremism and that society would not be allowed to go down that path.

Jordan declared three days of national mourning, according to Petra. Officials, including the mayor of the village of Shihan in Karak, condemned the attack.

Who may be behind it

Authorities said it was too early to say whether the attackers had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan, Al Jazeera reported. ABC said no armed group had been accused. Jordanian authorities have said they have repeatedly foiled plots by violent groups motivated by a strict interpretation of Islam in recent years, but attacks of this kind are rare in the US-allied kingdom, Al Jazeera said.

What this means for Jordan and visitors

The attack hit a part of the country that is home to a minority Christian population, and Al Jazeera noted that Jordan has several biblical sites that draw Christian pilgrims from around the world. Al-Halaseh told ABC that Jordan, and especially Karak, has been seen as a symbol of religious coexistence, and that the sense of security residents once had had vanished.

Security has been raised in the country in response. According to the US embassy in Amman, as cited by Al Jazeera, Jordan has increased protection at malls, foreign embassies and other locations while the search for the attackers continues. Video footage showed police patrolling outside the church on Saturday.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, ABC News