Update: Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Karak Church Funeral Attack After Gunfight
Security forces found the men, two brothers and a relative by marriage, hiding in an abandoned house near the village where nine Christians were killed Friday.
Learn more ›KARAK, Jordan —
Jordanian security forces on Monday, Oct. 26, arrested three men suspected in Friday's shooting at a funeral at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud, ending a three-day manhunt, Al Jazeera, ABC News and The National reported. All three were wounded in a gunfight before they were taken into custody.
See where this is ›The Public Security Directorate said the men were found hiding in an abandoned house in the village of Al-Jadeeda in Karak governorate, about 2 miles from Hamoud, according to ABC News. Officials said the men refused to surrender and fired on security forces, who returned fire. A government source told Al Jazeera the clash lasted about three hours and that one suspect was in critical condition. No security officers were reported hurt, and firearms and ammunition were found at the house.
Maj. Gen. Obeidallah al-Maaytah, head of public security, said the suspects are Jordanians from one family: two brothers and a man married to their sister, The National reported. He called them “terrorists and takfiriyin,” a term for those who declare other people apostates. ABC News reported that he said the attack did not appear to have been planned in advance. Watchman News is not naming the suspects, who have not been tried.
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said, “The terrorists resisted fiercely.” He told reporters there were no signs the men had ties to outside groups, ABC News reported, though The National quoted him as saying it was too early to say for certain. No group has claimed responsibility.
King Abdullah II wrote on X, “We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment,” ABC News reported. Al Jazeera said the king also ordered a review of how security forces respond to such attacks.
Nine Christians, all men and most from the Halasah family, were killed when gunmen opened fire on mourners in the churchyard Friday, Oct. 23, according to The National. About 40 people were wounded, and 27 were still in the hospital Monday, a Karak military hospital director told Al Jazeera. Christians number about 300,000 of Jordan's 11.5 million people, according to Al Jazeera.
