Jordan arrests three in church attack: Dawn raid ends three-hour shootout
Security forces captured the three Jordanian suspects in Karak governorate after a gun battle in a rural village.
By Marco Whitaker ·
Jordanian security forces detained three men on Monday morning in connection with the deadly assault on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. The arrests follow a three-hour firefight in the village of al-Jadeeda, which lies six miles from the site of the Friday attack in Hamoud. All three suspects are members of the same family, including two brothers, and authorities recovered firearms and ammunition from their hideout.
Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh confirmed that the suspects were identified early in the investigation. He stated that security services used all available means to capture them. The men were hiding in an abandoned house and refused to surrender. They opened fire on approaching officers, who returned the engagement until all three were subdued. One suspect was critically injured during the raid, while the others sustained severe wounds.
The attack on St George’s Church in Hamoud occurred during a funeral procession on Friday. Armed men stormed the compound, killing eight people and wounding 34 others. Video footage from Al-Mamlaka TV showed three individuals shooting outside the church before running toward the entrance. Other clips captured attackers firing on a group of men attempting to flee the building. The victims were laid to rest on Sunday in Karak, with their coffins draped in national flags.
King Abdullah II ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist to the incident. He described the safety of Jordanians as a red line and declared that the hand of justice would reach every terrorist involved. The monarch had previously stated that the shooting would be met with the harshest retaliation possible. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning, requiring flags to fly at half-mast over government institutions.
The Public Security Directorate said the suspects were Jordanian and had no known ties to other armed groups. Al-Farrayeh described the attackers as extremists with no relationship to humanity. No group has formally claimed responsibility for the killing. The minister said investigations are ongoing and that everyone involved in the act will be taken to justice.
Karak governorate is located 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. The region is home to a Christian minority community in a Muslim-majority kingdom where Christians make up between 2 and 3 percent of the population. Al-Farrayeh urged citizens to remain calm and reject violence. He promised practical measures to protect civilians following the tragedy.
