Church Attack Death Toll Rises to 9 as Officials Blame Islamist Extremism
Authorities said a group of gunmen attacked a Christian church in Jordan during a funeral on Friday, killing nine people and leaving more than two dozen others wounded.
The shooting occurred at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud, in the Karak governorate, roughly 55 miles south of Amman.
Jordanian Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour said Saturday that one critically wounded patient remained in unstable condition at Prince Ali Military Hospital.
Government spokesperson Mohammad Momani said the attackers appeared to follow an “extremist takfiri ideology.” The term is used for a strict interpretation of Islam that labels those who reject it as apostates or nonbelievers. Terrorist organizations including ISIS have cited takfiri beliefs to justify attacks against Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Journalists and other people stand outside a Greek Orthodox church cordoned off with crime scene tape hours after gunmen opened fire during a funeral in Hamoud village, in Jordan’s Karak governorate on Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo)
Karak has a significant Christian minority. Momani stressed that Christians are “part of Jordan’s national fabric” as authorities responded to the attack.
Authorities have not said whether the gunmen belonged to an established terrorist organization, and no arrests had been announced in connection with the shooting.
Video broadcast by Jordanian state television and cited by The Associated Press appeared to show two men carrying pistols walk toward the church before opening fire.
Moments later, a third man holding what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle joined them. The three men then moved quickly toward the church.
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People and security forces gather outside a Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud in Jordan’s Karak governorate following a shooting on Oct. 23, 2026. Gunmen killed at least seven people, authorities said. (AFP via Getty Images)
Witness photographs and videos showed shattered glass and blood on the church floor. Once police secured the site, two bodies covered by blankets could be seen outside the building.
Dorgham Halasa told the AP that heavy gunfire broke out about 15 minutes after the funeral service started. He said people immediately began fleeing.
Halasa said he did not see the attackers himself, but people he spoke with reported seeing at least four gunmen. As of Saturday, Jordanian officials had not confirmed how many assailants were involved.
King Abdullah II vowed Friday that Jordan would “confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties.”
The interior of a Greek Orthodox church is seen hours after gunmen opened fire on Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo)
“Whoever imagines that the bullets of treachery can divide the ranks of Jordanians will fail in his endeavor before our steadfastness and unity,” the king said. “Our deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, and our wishes for recovery to the wounded.”
Jordan declared three days of national mourning after the attack, the state-run Petra News Agency reported.
