Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Deadly Church Attack

Three men suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan were arrested on Monday, October 26, after a gunfight with security forces. The attack occurred during a funeral in Hammoud, Karak governorate, on Friday, killing nine people and wounding more than two dozen, according to Jordanian authorities.

Jordan's Public Security Directorate said all three suspects were wounded during a dawn operation in Karak, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Amman. No security personnel were injured in the operation.

The arrests followed an attack in which gunmen opened fire inside or near the church while mourners were attending a funeral. Initial reports published on October 24 cited seven deaths and 40 people wounded, while subsequent information from Jordanian authorities put the death toll at nine.

Jordanian officials identified three suspected assailants, although witnesses cited in earlier coverage gave differing accounts of how many gunmen they had seen. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack, and authorities had not publicly established any links between the suspects and an armed organization.

Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya identified the arrested men as those responsible for the shooting and said security personnel had confronted resistance during their capture.

"The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act," Mazen Al-Faraya said in a phone interview with state television channel Al-Mamlaka. "They put up fierce resistance against the security forces, but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries."

Al-Faraya said investigators had identified the three individuals early in the aftermath of the attack. Security services then used available resources to locate and apprehend them.

The Public Security Directorate issued a statement condemning the violence and asserting that the suspects had been brought into custody. Reuters reported that the agency did not disclose their identities or identify possible links to Islamist militant groups.

"Terrorism has no place among us," the directorate said, adding that the suspects had met their "just fate," according to Reuters.

King Abdullah II called for a forceful response against those responsible and anyone seeking to undermine national unity. His remarks followed the shooting, which struck a community in Karak where Christians make up a minority of the population.

In a statement reported by NPR on October 24, the king said Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties" and offered his "deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, and our wishes for recovery to the wounded."

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said during a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening that terrorist ideology and extremism were behind the attack. He pledged punishment for the assailants and legal action against those seeking to spread extremism.

Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the shooting, according to the kingdom's Petra News Agency. Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said two wounded people were in critical condition in the initial aftermath of the attack.

The killings also prompted condemnation from regional and international figures. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, offered condolences to victims' families and described the shooting as a "heinous terrorist attack."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed solidarity with Jordan during a call with his Jordanian counterpart, according to a statement from Hussein's office. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the attack, with spokesman Stephane Dujarric describing the targeting of people at a funeral as "especially heinous."

Guterres called for everyone responsible to be identified and held accountable, Dujarric said.

The attack revived memories of deadly violence in Karak in 2016, when gunmen carried out a series of assaults, including an ambush on police and an attack near a Crusader castle popular with tourists. Ten people, including seven police officers, were killed, and dozens were wounded before security forces killed the attackers after a prolonged standoff.