Jordan’s King Abdullah orders firm response after deadly church attack

Authorities searching for attackers say it’s too early to determine if they had ties to known groups, as the death toll rises to nine.

A member of security personnel stands outside St George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud in Karak, Jordan, where gunmen opened fire during a funeral on Friday [Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters]

Jordan’s King Abdullah has ordered security forces to respond firmly and pursue those behind a church attack in the Karak governorate that killed nine people and wounded 40, the royal court has said.

The country has already increased security across malls, foreign embassies and other locations across the country in response to the attack, according to the US embassy in Amman, as authorities continue to search for the perpetrators.

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On Friday, assailants fired for several minutes in broad daylight during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate, about 120km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, in what Jordanian authorities described as an “act of extremist terrorism”.

Eight people were confirmed dead on Friday, with authorities saying one more succumbed to their injuries on Saturday. “The death toll from the terrorist act in Karak has risen to nine after one of the wounded died,” state news agency Petra reported, citing Jordan Public Security.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, as Jordan declared three days of national mourning, according to Petra.

King Abdullah, a US partner in the fight against violent armed groups in the region, visited Karak hours after the attack and said the perpetrators would be punished “with an iron fist”.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said on X that the attack was “a result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism”.

“We will not allow society to go down this path,” he added.

Search for attackers

Authorities said they were still searching for the attackers, adding that it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan.

Video footage showed police patrolling outside the church on Saturday.

The grounds of St George’s Greek Orthodox is cordoned off on October 24, 2026 [Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters]

Nasser al-Burqan, a survivor of the attack, told the Reuters news agency that one of the attackers, standing about two metres (6.5 feet) away, pointed a handgun at him and opened fire on Friday.

A short while later, his son, who also attended the mass, called him to say he had been shot in the leg and was being treated in hospital.

“When everything finally quietened down, I looked out the window behind me, and I saw two [assailants] — one was masked, the other was not; he was carrying a handgun,” said al-Burqan, a lawyer.

“A massacre, a massacre in every sense of the word,” said Tarek Ammarin at a hospital where the wounded were being treated. A relative of Ammarin’s was injured in the attack.

Bahjat al-Rushda, mayor of Shihan village in Karak, joined a list of officials condemning what he called a “wicked” attack.

“God willing, this country will remain safe,” he said.

Such attacks are rare in Jordan, although authorities in the US-allied kingdom say they have repeatedly foiled plots by violent groups motivated by a strict interpretation of Islam in recent years.

Karak is home to a minority Christian population in Jordan, and the country is home to several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.

当局正在搜寻袭击者，他们表示现在判断袭击者是否与已知组织有关联还为时过早，死亡人数已上升至九人。

一名安保人员站在约旦卡拉克哈穆德村的圣乔治希腊东正教教堂外，周五，枪手在教堂举行的葬礼上开枪射击。[Alaa Al Sukhni/路透社]

约旦王室表示，约旦国王阿卜杜拉已下令安全部队对卡拉克省教堂袭击事件做出坚决回应，追捕幕后黑手。该袭击事件造成9人死亡，40人受伤。

据美国驻安曼大使馆称，为应对此次袭击，该国已加强了全国各地商场、外国使馆和其他场所的安保措施，当局仍在继续搜捕肇事者。

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周五，在约旦首都安曼西南约 120 公里（75 英里）的卡拉克省一座希腊东正教教堂举行的葬礼上，袭击者光天化日之下开枪数分钟。约旦当局称这是一起“极端恐怖主义行为”。

周五确认有8人死亡，当局称周六又有一人因伤势过重不治身亡。约旦国家通讯社佩特拉援引约旦公共安全部门的消息报道称：“卡拉克恐怖袭击事件的死亡人数已上升至9人，一名伤者不幸身亡。”

据佩特拉通讯社报道，约旦宣布全国哀悼三天，目前尚无任何组织或个人声称对此事负责。

阿卜杜拉国王是美国在该地区打击暴力武装团体的伙伴，他在袭击发生数小时后访问了卡拉克，并表示将“以铁腕”惩罚肇事者。

总理贾法尔·哈桑在X电视台表示，这次袭击是“恐怖主义意识形态和盲目极端主义的结果​​”。

“我们绝不允许社会走上这条路，”他补充道。

搜寻攻击者

当局表示，他们仍在搜寻袭击者，并补充说，现在判断他们是否与约旦境内外的已知组织有联系还为时过早。

视频画面显示，周六警方在教堂外巡逻。

2026 年 10 月 24 日，圣乔治希腊东正教场地被封锁 [Alaa Al Sukhni/路透社]

袭击事件的幸存者纳赛尔·布尔坎告诉路透社，周五，一名袭击者站在大约两米（6.5英尺）外，用手枪指着他并开火。

不久之后，他的儿子也参加了弥撒，打电话告诉他，他腿部中枪，正在医院接受治疗。

“当一切终于平静下来后，我向身后的窗户望去，看到两名（袭击者）——一名戴着面罩，另一名没有戴面罩；他带着一把手枪，”律师阿尔-布尔坎说道。

“这是一场屠杀，彻头彻尾的屠杀，”塔雷克·阿马林在伤者接受治疗的医院里说道。阿马林的一位亲戚在袭击中受伤。

卡拉克市希汉村村长巴赫贾特·鲁什达加入了谴责这起他称之为“邪恶”袭击的官员行列。

“但愿上帝保佑，这个国家能够保持安全。”他说。

此类袭击在约旦很少见，尽管这个美国盟友王国的当局表示，近年来他们屡次挫败了受伊斯兰教严格解读驱使的暴力团体的阴谋。

卡拉克是约旦少数基督教人口的聚居地，该国拥有多处圣经遗址，吸引着来自世界各地的基督教朝圣者。