Gunmen Kill Eight at Karak Church
Jordan declares three days of mourning and intensifies security after attackers fired during a funeral in the southwest.
By Min-jun Kim ·
Eight people died and forty were injured when gunmen opened fire inside a Greek Orthodox church in Karak on Friday. The shooting occurred in broad daylight while a funeral service was underway. The location is approximately 120 kilometers southwest of the capital, Amman.
The royal court stated that King Abdullah instructed security forces to hunt down those responsible. He traveled to Karak within hours of the incident. The King vowed to punish the perpetrators with an iron fist. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan described the event on social media as the result of terrorist ideology and blind extremism.
Jordanian officials labeled the incident an act of extremist terrorism. The state-run Petra News Agency reported that the country declared three days of national mourning. Authorities have not yet identified the group behind the attack. Officials said it is too early to determine if the attackers have ties to known organizations inside or outside Jordan.
In response to the violence, security has increased at shopping malls and foreign embassies. The US embassy in Amman confirmed these heightened measures. Police were seen patrolling outside the church on Saturday. No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the attack, told Reuters that one attacker stood about two meters away and aimed a handgun at him. After the gunfire stopped, he saw two assailants through a window. One was masked, and the other carried a handgun. Al-Burqan said his son was shot in the leg during the service and is receiving hospital treatment.
Tarek Ammarin, whose relative was wounded, described the event as a massacre in every sense. Bahjat al-Rushda, the mayor of Shihan village, called the attack wicked. He stated that the country would remain safe. Karak hosts a minority Christian population. Jordan contains several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.
Attacks of this type are rare in the US-allied kingdom. Authorities say they have foiled plots by violent groups driven by a strict interpretation of Islam in recent years. The search for the perpetrators continues.
Source: Al Jazeera
