At least seven people were killed and 27 injured after gunmen opened fire on a church in Jordan’s southern Karak province in an unprecedented attack that left the nation stunned.
The “unidentified” gunmen have not yet been captured, the public security agency said at a news conference Friday afternoon, adding that it was a terrorist attack on Christians attending a funeral in the town of Hmood.
Jordan’s King Abdullah said Jordan would respond “harshly” to those responsible for the “terrorist act.”
“The blood of the Jordanians is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist those who transgress this country,” the king said on X.
The death toll was revised several times throughout the day as new information emerged.
A witness told Al-Mamlaka state television that one of the attackers was carrying a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle and that the shooting continued for several minutes.
Another witness speaking to CNN confirmed that the attack “went on for a long time” with gunmen shouting Allahu Akbar while aiming at the church courtyard, where most people were.
“It was a massacre. …. I didn’t imagine I would come out alive,” she told CNN, saying she had to hide behind the altar, with other mourners, to survive the attack.
“They beat people gathered to cry and cry,” she said. “I never imagined that something like this could happen anywhere in Jordan”
Security camera footage circulating on social media showed three gunmen opening fire in the street before heading towards the church.
The city has been home to a predominantly Christian community for centuries. People gathered at St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Friday to mourn the death of a member of the community.
“Some guys were standing in front of the church before two people got out of a vehicle and started shooting,” said Tamer Halasa, an eyewitness on Al-Mamlaka television.
Dozens of people were believed to be inside the church, witnesses told state media.
“We were more than 150 people inside and outside the church,” Halasa added.
Jordanian government ministers and regional officials quickly condemned the shooting. Sectarian attacks in Jordan are rare, with the Christian community representing only 2% of the country’s total population.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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