Jordan arrests three suspects in deadly church attack after shootout

Jordanian security forces have arrested three armed men suspected of carrying out a shooting at a church funeral last week that killed nine Christians and injured 34 other people, officials said, according to the BBC.

The Public Security Directorate said the men, whom it called “terrorists”, were found before dawn in an abandoned house in Karak governorate, south of Amman. They refused to surrender and opened fire on officers, who returned fire and wounded all three, the directorate said. No security personnel were injured.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a funeral at St George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hmoud, in Karak governorate.

King Abdullah II praised security forces for pursuing the suspects “to the very end”. In a post on “X”, he said the authorities had vowed the attackers would not escape punishment and that anyone promoting ideologies that divide Jordanians would not be tolerated. He also expressed condolences to the victims’ families and wished those injured a speedy recovery.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said anyone involved in the attack would be held accountable. He added that authorities were “examining every factor that leads youth toward extremism”.

Karak is home to a sizeable Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom. Verified CCTV footage from Friday showed three men carrying guns approaching and firing on the church. A second video showed dead and injured people on the ground amid chaotic scenes.

Khalid al-Mdanat, who was at the church, told BBC Arabic that the attack lasted about 15 minutes. He said some people at the funeral took cover, while others held the dead, stayed close to their children or fled. The gunmen escaped in a pick-up truck, “firing as they went”, he added.

On Sunday, Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited survivors who had been injured in the attack and condemned it as a “vile, cowardly, and bloody act”. He also led the funeral at St George’s for eight victims: Dr Maher Zureiqat, Ihab al-Halsa, Dr Fadi al-Halsa, Dr Khaled al-Halsa, Dr Asim al-Burqan, Alaa al-Masarwa, Marwan Khaitan and Mazen al-Qassous. Thousands of people attended.

The ninth victim, Dr Mohammed al-Qassous, was buried near Amman on Monday.