Gunmen Kill Seven at a Church Funeral in Jordan's Karak Governorate; King Vows 'Harshest Penalties' as Manhunt Continues

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hmoud in Jordan's Karak governorate on Friday, killing seven people and wounding dozens, Jordanian officials said, according to the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Associated Press.

Accounts of the number of wounded differed. The BBC and Al Jazeera reported at least 34 injured, while the AP, in a report published by NBC News, said 40 were wounded. Jordan's health minister, Ibrahim al-Budour, said two of the wounded were in critical condition, according to the AP. The death toll was initially reported as seven, then revised to six by a government spokesperson and then back to seven, the BBC reported.

No one has claimed responsibility. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a news conference that authorities were working to catch the perpetrators, whom he described as a "group of extremists," the BBC reported. He called the attack "painful and horrific" and "unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." Obaidullah al-Maaytah, director of the Public Security Directorate, said the search for the gunmen was ongoing and pledged that "the perpetrators will be caught and our national unity will not be hit," according to Al Jazeera.

Government spokesman and Communications Minister Mohammad Momani attributed the attack to "extremist takfiri ideology," which brands others as unbelievers, the Anadolu Agency reported. He said investigators were still examining whether the attackers had organizational links and that findings would be announced when the investigation is complete. A government statement said the attack was "carried out by unknown assailants" and that "investigations are underway at full speed," according to the AP.

CCTV footage verified by the BBC appears to show three gunmen walking from a road toward the church, all apparently armed with handguns. Footage broadcast on Jordanian state television showed two gunmen who appeared to hold pistols approaching and firing, followed by a third man who appeared to carry a semiautomatic rifle, the AP reported. State broadcaster Al-Mamlaka reported that security forces were pursuing two suspects, according to Al Jazeera. A mourner told the AP that others reported seeing four gunmen, a number the AP could not verify.

Witnesses described panic inside the church. Khalid al-Mdanat told BBC Arabic the attack lasted about 15 minutes, with "people trying to flee while the shooting was still active." "Some were taking cover, some were cradling the dead, others were holding their sons close," he said. He said the gunmen left through the church doors and fled in a pickup truck "firing as they went." One witness told the BBC that between 150 and 200 people were in the church. Another mourner, Dorgham Halasa, told the AP that heavy gunfire erupted about 15 minutes after the funeral began.

King Abdullah II said authorities would "confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties," according to the BBC and the AP. "The blood of Jordanians is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against anyone who overreaches against this country," he wrote on X, Al Jazeera reported. The king visited the wounded at Karak Government Hospital on Friday evening, according to Anadolu. The BBC described a heavy security presence there and anger among families, some of whom criticized what they called "a failure to take a tougher approach towards terrorists."

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared three days of national mourning beginning Oct. 23 and ordered flags lowered to half-staff at government buildings, Anadolu reported. Momani said Christians are "an integral and inseparable part of Jordan's national fabric."

Christians number about 300,000 in a country of roughly 11.5 million, according to Al Jazeera, and Karak has a sizable Christian community, the BBC reported. Such attacks are rare in Jordan. In 2016, gunmen killed 10 people, including seven officers and a Canadian tourist, in a series of attacks in Karak that included a Crusader-era castle, before security forces killed them, according to the AP and Al Jazeera, which attributed that assault to ISIL.

Condemnation came from across the region and beyond. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun called the attack a "heinous terrorist attack" that "violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners," the BBC reported. Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, offered condolences, according to the AP, and Syria, Egypt, Oman, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the killings. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that "an attack not only on a place of worship but during a funeral procession is especially heinous," Al Jazeera reported.

Jordanian authorities had not publicly announced any arrests as of Friday night.