At Least Seven Dead as Attackers Shoot Up Church in Jordan

AMMAN  Gunmen opened fire on a funeral in central Jordan on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding 27 others, authorities said.

Seven people were confirmed killed during an attack on a Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, director of Jordan’s Public Security Directorate Obaidullah Al-Maaytah told a press conference on Friday.

Al-Maaytah said the search for the shooters was continuing, vowing that “the perpetrators will be caught and our national unity will not be hit”.

Government spokesman Dr Al-Momani Mohammad condemned the attack as “heinous” and said the attackers arrived in a car, entered the church and started fire before escaping.

Survivors said they heard an explosion as the funeral procession began and masked assailants stormed into the church and opened fire for many minutes.

State-owned television station Al-Mamlaka said security personnel were deployed to the church, and were pursuing two suspects who emerged from a vehicle and opened fire.

King Abdullah II of Jordan said the authorities will “confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties.”

One of the mourners, Khaled Burqan, told Al-Mamlaka that many were inside the church for the funeral when the shooting began.

He said two attackers equipped with a rifle and pistol had been firing at the mourners for some minutes.

BBC has authenticated CCTV footage that purports to show three gunmen heading from a road to the church.

Two of the attackers are seen walking up what looks to be a vehicle access into the church grounds before pulling back for a moment and returning with a third man. All three appear to have firearms.

Separate film, thought to be from the aftermath of the incident, shows multiple dead and wounded bodies on the ground in some chaotic situations.

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