Jordanian Prime Minister Orders Nationwide Sweep After Three Gunmen Kill Nine at Church Funeral

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered a nationwide security sweep on Saturday following a deadly shooting at a church funeral in Jordan. The operation launched within hours of three gunmen killing nine people and wounding 40 others at St George's Greek Orthodox church in the town of Hamoud.

The attack occurred on Friday during a funeral service in the Karak governorate. Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh labeled the incident a terrorist act carried out by extremists. He noted that investigators have not yet determined if the shooters have connections to known domestic or international groups. No organization had claimed responsibility for the violence as of Saturday.

Security officials described the scene as chaotic. Major General Abdallah al-Maaytah, head of the Public Security Directorate, stated that most of the 40 injured were receiving medical treatment. The search for the three attackers continued immediately after they fled the site. State television aired footage from a church security camera showing the men firing from a pavement area before running toward the building entrance. Reuters verified the video by matching the entry path and surrounding structures.

Witnesses reported that the gunfire lasted for several minutes and struck attendees indiscriminately. Priest Theodoros Soueiss said he and others instructed the crowd to get down as panic spread. Ihab Ammareen, another attendee, described seeing people collapse with blood on the floor. Outside a government hospital in Karak, Hani Al-Mbaydeen gathered with other families to support the wounded. He questioned how such extremist ideas enter the minds of young people in the country.

Jordan’s Christian community is a small minority in the nation. The country is generally considered stable, though US authorities have reported foiling multiple attempted attacks by Islamist militants in recent years. Jordan was also targeted by Iranian strikes this year after the US and Israel launched operations against Iran in February. The US embassy in Amman announced on Saturday that security measures had been increased at malls, foreign embassies, and other key locations. UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the violence, while US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz called it a brutal attack on a place of worship. King Abdullah visited Karak within hours of the shooting and vowed to punish the perpetrators.