At least seven people were killed Friday when several gunmen opened fire at a church in Jordan, an attack the country’s king described as an act of terrorism.
The shooting wounded 34 others and took place during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, roughly 110 miles south of Amman. The city is home to a minority Christian community.
King Abdullah II vowed a severe response, writing on X that the “terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation.” He said anyone seeking to divide Jordanians through violence would fail in the face of the country’s unity.
“All Jordanians, from north to south, are partners in land and fate, and nothing stands between them,” the king wrote. He offered condolences to the victims’ families, wished the injured a quick recovery and warned that “every Jordanian life is precious.” Those who threaten the nation, he added, would face an “iron fist.”
People and security forces gather outside a Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud in Jordan’s Karak governorate after a shooting Oct. 23, 2026. Gunmen killed at least seven people, authorities said. (AFP via Getty Images)
Footage aired on Jordanian state television appeared to show two gunmen carrying pistols as they approached the church and began firing, The Associated Press reported.
A third attacker, who appeared to be armed with a semiautomatic rifle, then opened fire. The three men subsequently ran toward the church.
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A government statement said the attack was carried out by “unknown assailants.” It did not say whether any suspects had been arrested or killed, adding only that a full-scale investigation was moving quickly.
Ambulances are parked outside Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak, Jordan, where victims wounded when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church hours earlier were being treated Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
Karak was previously targeted in 2016, when gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks that included the city’s popular Crusader castle. Ten people, among them seven police officers, were killed and dozens more were wounded. Jordanian security forces eventually killed the attackers following a lengthy standoff.
Jordan’s director of public security, Maj. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah, said at a news conference that 27 people wounded in Friday’s attack remained hospitalized.
A security officer stands guard outside a Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud village, in Jordan’s Karak governorate, where gunmen opened fire during a funeral Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said he spoke with his Jordanian counterpart and “affirmed Iraq’s solidarity with Jordan in the face of terrorism.”
