Gunmen Kill 7 at Greek Orthodox Church Funeral in Jordan

Three gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, a southern Jordanian governorate approximately 180 kilometers south of Amman, on Friday, October 23, 2026. The attack left at least seven people dead and 34 wounded, with 27 of the injured receiving hospital treatment. Witnesses reported that 150 to 200 people were gathered inside and outside the church at the time of the shooting.

Second-hand accounts described the attackers as masked men who fired from outside the church entrance and in the courtyard where mourners had assembled. According to reports, the shooting lasted several minutes before the gunmen fled the scene. Some witnesses reported hearing assailants shout "Allahu Akbar" during the attack. Surveillance footage circulating online showed three armed men, with at least one reportedly carrying a semiautomatic rifle. The attackers' identities and precise motives remain unclear; however, Jordan's Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya characterized the attack as carried out by "extremists." Authorities stated they possess names of suspects but have not publicly disclosed them. A government security source told the media that the attack was "carried out by unknown assailants," and investigations are ongoing.

King Abdullah II labeled the incident a "terrorist attack" and vowed a harsh response. "The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation," he stated, adding that "we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation." Prime Minister Jafar Hassan declared a three-day national mourning period, during which government offices and public institutions lowered their flags to half-mast. The king visited the hospital to see the wounded.

International figures condemned the attack. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, a Christian, called it a "heinous terrorist attack," and Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein affirmed Iraq's solidarity with Jordan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson described the attack at a place of worship during a funeral as "especially heinous." The World Evangelical Alliance's General Secretary also condemned the shooting.

Jordan is a Muslim-majority country with a Christian minority comprising approximately 2–3 percent of its roughly 11.5 million population. The Karak region, however, has a significant Christian community. Gun attacks on religious sites in Jordan are relatively rare, though the country has experienced major security incidents in recent years, including a 2016 attack in Karak that killed 10 people. Security forces have cordoned off entry roads to Karak and are conducting extensive searches.