Arabic version: مسلحون يقتلون تسعة في جنازة بكنيسة في الأردن

According to The Guardian, nine people were killed and 40 injured when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at St George’s Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, in Jordan’s Karak governorate. Authorities described Friday’s attack on the country’s Christian minority as a terrorist act by extremists.

Maj Gen Abdallah al-Maaytah, head of Jordan’s Public Security Directorate, said most of those injured were receiving treatment and that the search for the attackers was continuing. Interior minister Mazin Al Farrayeh said extremists carried out the assault, but said it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Footage aired by the state-owned Al-Mamlaka television station appeared to show three people firing at the church from a pavement before taking cover behind trees and a low wall. The video then showed the attackers running towards the entrance. A priest, Theodoros Soueiss, said people were ordered to get to the ground as panic spread. He said the gunfire was indiscriminate.

King Abdullah visited Karak hours after the attack and said those responsible would be punished “with an iron fist”. Security was increased at malls, foreign embassies and other locations across Jordan, according to the US embassy in Amman. UN secretary general António Guterres condemned the violence, saying attacks on civilians and places of worship were unacceptable.