Jordan Arrests Three After Deadly Church Attack

Jordanian security forces have arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law suspected of carrying out a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church funeral in the village of Hamoud. The attack killed nine people and wounded 34, alarming the country’s Christian community. At least 150 people were believed to be inside the church when gunmen opened fire for several minutes. The three suspects were detained after a shootout with security forces at an abandoned house in al-Judayyda, in Karak governorate. Officials said the men, who lived near Hamoud, refused to surrender and attacked the officers, who returned fire and wounded them before making the arrests. No security personnel were injured. Authorities said they found firearms and ammunition in the suspects’ possession. Jordan’s Director of Public Security, Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah, said the suspects appeared to have acted alone, with no current indications of links to other cells. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said investigations were continuing and that no organisation had claimed responsibility for the attack. The authorities have not named the suspects or publicly identified possible links to Islamist militant groups. The violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable US ally in the Middle East. After the attack, King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist.” Senior officials said Jordan would not tolerate extremist terrorism. Al-Faraya also said authorities were examining the circumstances that led young people towards extremism and would hold anyone who participated in the attack accountable. Jordan has previously foiled Islamist militant plots and is a US partner in efforts to combat extremism.

Jordan said its air force carried out strikes on alleged militant hideouts in southern Syria after investigators concluded that suspects in a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan had links to terrorist groups operating across the border. Jordan’s armed forces said the strikes were coordinated with Damascus, but Syria’s government disputed that account, saying it had not agreed to the operation and had opened an investigation. Syria’s Civil Defence reported that seven people, including three children and a woman, were killed and three injured at four sites in Daraa and Sweida provinces. Jordan had not immediately responded to that report. Syria later closed the Nassib crossing, the sole passenger and commercial border crossing between the two countries, citing developments in Daraa. Earlier on Monday, Jordanian officials said security forces arrested three suspects—two brothers and their brother-in-law—after a shootout connected to Friday’s church attack. The suspects were found in an abandoned house, where they allegedly refused to surrender and attacked security forces. Officers returned fire, wounded and arrested all three, and recovered firearms and ammunition; no security personnel were injured. The suspects will face justice, officials said, while investigations continue. Authorities said there was no current indication that the suspects were connected to other cells, and no group has claimed responsibility for the church attack. The attack took place during a funeral in Hamoud, in Karak governorate, about 120 kilometres southwest of Amman. It killed nine people and wounded at least 34, according to the article. The violence against Jordan’s Christian minority was described as highly unusual in the relatively stable U.S. ally. King Abdullah ordered an “iron fist” response, and senior officials said Jordan would not tolerate extremist terrorism. The article notes Jordan’s history of foiling Islamist militant plots, while emphasizing that officials did not identify any Islamist group as responsible for the church attack.

Jordanian security forces arrested three men suspected of carrying out a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Hammoud, a village in the southern governorate of Karak. The suspects were captured after a dawn shootout on Monday; all three were wounded, while no security personnel were injured. The attack took place Friday during a funeral and killed nine people, with more than two dozen others wounded. The article reports that three men were believed to have participated in the assault. Jordan’s Interior Minister, Mazen Al-Faraya, said the suspects had been identified soon after the attack and described the security forces’ operation as the culmination of efforts to capture them. He said the men resisted fiercely before being subdued and taken into custody with severe injuries. Authorities had not announced the suspects’ names or identified any possible links to Islamist militant groups, and no organization had claimed responsibility. The Public Security Directorate said the suspects had met their “just fate” and declared that terrorism had no place in Jordan. King Abdullah II called on authorities to respond with an “iron fist” against those he described as outlaws of Islam and anyone seeking to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people. The attack occurred in Karak, which has a minority Christian population. The article also notes that about 3,000 people attended a funeral on October 25 for victims of the attack, which had occurred two days earlier.

Jordanian security forces arrested three men on Monday after a dawn shootout in Karak governorate, linking them to a deadly attack at a funeral in a Greek Orthodox church on Friday. Nine people were killed and about 40 were injured in the attack. The suspects had been found hiding in an abandoned house roughly 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. All three were wounded and taken into custody; officials said security forces recovered firearms and ammunition and suffered no casualties. Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said the suspects had been identified soon after the attack and that they resisted arrest before being subdued. King Abdullah II had called for an “iron fist” response against those seeking to undermine national unity, and reiterated that the attackers would be punished and divisive extremist ideologies would not be tolerated. A relative of the victims, who survived the attack, said the arrests brought some relief to grieving families and the wider Jordanian public. Authorities have not announced who was responsible for the attack or identified any possible affiliation between the suspects and Islamist militant groups. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate has not publicly named the men. The article notes that attacks on Christian minorities are rare in Jordan, a comparatively stable country that is a close US ally and maintains diplomatic and military relations with neighboring Israel.

Jordan said its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southeastern Syria late Monday, saying people suspected of involvement in a deadly attack on a church in Jordan had taken refuge there. Jordan's armed forces said the strikes were coordinated with Damascus. Syria, however, gave a different account and said it had opened an investigation into the attacks. A Syrian health official told state news agency SANA that at least five civilians, including women and children, were killed, according to Reuters. Earlier on Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested three men in Karak Governorate in connection with the attack at Hammoud Church. The attack occurred during a funeral and killed nine people and injured 40. Authorities said the suspects were found in an abandoned house after a dawn shootout. All three were wounded and taken into custody; Jordanian forces reported no casualties in the arrest operation. Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said the suspects had been identified soon after the incident and resisted before being subdued. King Abdullah II called for an “iron fist” response against those seeking to undermine national unity and said the perpetrators would not escape punishment. A relative of victims who survived the attack said the arrests had eased some of the families’ grief. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Jordan’s Public Security Directorate has not publicly identified the suspects or specified any suspected Islamist militant affiliation. The article notes that attacks on Christian minorities are rare in Jordan, which it describes as a relatively stable state and a close US ally with diplomatic and military relations with Israel.

Jordanian security forces arrested three men—two brothers and their brother-in-law—after a shootout on Monday connected to an attack on a Greek Orthodox church that killed nine people. Senior officials said the suspects appear to have no links to other militant cells, though investigations remain open. Director of Public Security Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah said, “God willing, they only represent themselves,” while Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said there were currently no indications of connections to other groups and that the case was not closed. The church attack took place Friday during a funeral in Hamoud, a village about 120 kilometers southwest of Amman. Gunmen fired for several minutes, killing nine people and wounding at least 34. The assault has alarmed Jordan’s Christian minority. King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist,” and officials said the country would not tolerate extremist terrorism. According to the Public Security Directorate, the suspects were found hiding in an abandoned house. They refused to surrender and attacked the security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after wounding them. No security personnel were injured. Authorities said firearms and ammunition were found in the suspects’ possession. The men, who lived near Hamoud, will face justice. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and officials did not identify any Islamist group as being involved. The article notes that such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable US ally and partner in efforts against extremism. Jordan has foiled Islamist militant plots in the past.

Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects on Oct. 26 in connection with an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, in the Karak governorate, three days earlier. The attack occurred during a funeral and killed nine people, while 40 others were wounded. Witnesses said the shooting continued for several minutes. According to Jordan’s Public Security Directorate, officers found the suspects hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. The suspects refused to surrender and exchanged fire with security forces, who wounded and detained all three. No security personnel were injured. Authorities said they found firearms and ammunition in the suspects’ possession. The directorate condemned the attack, saying, “Terrorism has no place among us,” and that the suspects had met their “just fate.” King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist.” Jordan is a US partner in the fight against Islamist militant groups, but violence against the country’s Christian minority is described as highly unusual. Authorities have said they foiled several Islamist militant plots over the years. Officials have not named the arrested suspects or publicly confirmed any affiliation with militant groups. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities were examining the circumstances that led young people towards extremism and would hold accountable anyone found to have participated in the attack.

Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects in connection with a deadly attack on a church in Hamoud village, in Karak governorate, according to state-run Petra news agency. The attack killed nine people and injured 40. Authorities said they found the suspects hiding in an abandoned house early on Monday. The suspects opened fire when officers approached; security forces returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded. No officers were injured, and firearms and ammunition were seized. Officials have not identified the suspects’ affiliations or confirmed whether they belong to a known militant organisation. Interior Minister Mazen Al Farrayeh said on Friday that extremists carried out the attack, but cautioned that it was too early to establish whether they had links to groups inside or outside Jordan. No group has claimed responsibility. The arrests followed public mourning for the victims. Hundreds of Jordanians attended a funeral service at the church on Sunday, honouring eight of the nine Christians killed. King Abdullah II described the shooting as “terrorism,” vowed to pursue those responsible and said the attack would not undermine national unity. The government said it was determined to reassure the public and hold anyone involved accountable.

Queen Rania attended the funeral in Hamoud for people killed in a Friday attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan’s Karak governorate. Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, accompanied by Queen Rania, Princess Rajwa and Princess Salma, conveyed King Abdullah II’s condolences to the victims’ families, according to Jordan’s state-run Petra agency. The funeral took place at the church where the attack occurred, during a funeral service. Nine men were killed, including a doctor and a dentist. Most belonged to the Halasah clan, described as one of Jordan’s most prominent Christian families. The article says the attack was the deadliest against Jordan’s Christian minority since the 1950s. It also notes that it was not immediately clear why only eight of the nine victims were buried in Hamoud. Jordan’s Ministry of Interior confirmed that three suspects were detained on Monday morning. King Abdullah called the assault “terrorism” and visited injured people in hospital on Friday, where he spoke with them about their condition, according to footage broadcast by state-owned television. Queen Rania prayed for the victims and comforted relatives. Karak, the site of the attack, is about 100 kilometres south of Amman.