Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 34, authorities said. Karak sits about 180 kilometers south of the capital, Amman.
Jordanian state television broadcast images showing two men holding pistols approaching the church and firing. A third man with what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle then opened fire before all three ran toward the church.
A government statement described the attack as carried out by unknown assailants and did not say whether any attackers were captured or killed. Jordan’s director of public security, Maj. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah, said 27 of the wounded were still receiving treatment.
Karak has a small Christian community. In 2016, gunmen attacked police in a series of ambushes in the city, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people. Security forces killed those attackers after a long standoff.
King Abdullah II vowed the harshest penalties for what he called a terrorist act. Leaders across the region, including in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Oman, condemned the killings. The grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo called it a heinous terrorist attack.
