Three-hour shootout ends as Jordanian forces capture church attack suspects in Karak

Three Jordanian suspects were arrested on Monday morning after a three-hour gun battle in the village of al-Jadeeda. The operation followed a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church on Friday that left at least eight people dead and 34 others wounded. The suspects were identified by security services as family members, including two brothers, and were found hiding in an abandoned house located six miles from the site of the initial attack in Hamoud.

Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh stated that the suspects were identified early in the investigation and that security forces used all available methods to locate them. He noted that the suspects put up fierce resistance and were subdued after sustaining severe injuries. The Public Security Directorate reported that one of the arrested men was critically wounded during the dawn raid. Security forces recovered firearms and ammunition from the hideout, according to the state news agency Petra.

The attack on St George’s Church occurred on Friday during a funeral procession in the village of Hamoud. Armed men stormed the compound and opened fire on mourners. Security camera footage broadcast by Al-Mamlaka TV showed three individuals shooting outside the church and running toward the entrance. Other video clips depicted attackers firing at a group of men attempting to flee the building. The Karak governorate, where the incident took place, is situated approximately 75 miles southwest of the capital, Amman.

King Abdullah II ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist to the attack on the Christian minority community. During a National Security Council meeting on Saturday, the King described the security and safety of Jordanians as a red line. He stated that the hand of justice would reach every terrorist involved in the incident. Prior to that meeting, the King had declared that the shooting would be met with the harshest retaliation possible. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast over government institutions.

Al-Farrayeh said on Monday that investigations into the attack are ongoing and that everyone involved in the terrorist act would be taken to justice. He emphasized that Jordan is adamant that an attack like this does not happen again. The minister urged citizens to remain calm and reject violence, noting that the tragedy would lead to practical measures to protect civilians. He said authorities are examining all circumstances that lead young people toward extremism.

The Public Security Directorate has not named the three suspects or publicly identified any affiliations with specific armed groups. Al-Farrayeh described the perpetrators as a group of extremists with no relationship to humanity. No group has claimed responsibility for the Friday attack so far. A senior security official told journalists that the suspects are from one family and that authorities have not found ties with other organizations.

Eight victims were laid to rest in Karak on Sunday in a funeral that drew a large crowd. Their coffins were draped with Jordanian flags as they were carried through the mourners under a heavy security presence. Karak is home to a significant minority Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom. Christians make up between 2 percent and 3 percent of the total population in Jordan. Social media posts identified one of the victims as Mohammad al-Qasous, a Christian resident of the area.