Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 34 others, authorities said.

A government statement said that the attack was “carried out by unknown assailants,” but didn’t say whether any gunmen were captured or killed. It said that “investigations are underway at full speed.”

Images being broadcast on Jordanian state television show two gunmen who appear to be holding pistols approaching the church and firing shots. A third man who appears to be holding a semiautomatic rifle then appears and opens fire, and all three then run toward the church. Jordan’s director of public security, Maj. Gen. Karak is home to a minority Christian population. Jordanian security forces killed the gunmen after a long standoff. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The shooting took place at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of the capital, Amman. Obeidallah Maaytah, said at a news conference that 27 of the wounded were still being treated. In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks in Karak, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people, including seven officers, and wounding dozens.

A government statement said that the attack was “carried out by unknown assailants,” but didn’t say whether any gunmen were captured or killed. It said that “investigations are underway at full speed. King Abdullah II said on X that Jordan “will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties” and offered his “deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, and our wishes for recovery to the wounded.

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people