Jordan Prime Minister Orders Nationwide Security Sweep After 40 Injured in Church Attack

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered a security sweep across Jordan on Saturday following a shooting that killed nine people and wounded 40 others at a church in Karak governorate.

The attack occurred on Friday at St George's Greek Orthodox church in the town of Hamoud. It was the first major incident to target the country's Christian minority in recent years. Authorities immediately classified the event as a terrorist act carried out by extremists.

Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh stated that the perpetrators were extremists but declined to confirm ties to specific domestic or foreign groups. No organization had claimed responsibility for the shooting by Saturday morning. Health officials reported that 40 individuals were injured in the blast.

State television aired security camera footage showing three men firing from a sidewalk. The gunmen took cover behind trees and a low wall before running toward the church entrance. Reuters verified the video by matching the location's physical features to the entry path shown in the recording.

Priest Theodoros Soueiss told attendees to get down as bullets flew. He described the gunfire as indiscriminate and noted that a sense of panic took hold among the congregation. Witness Khaled Burqan said the shooters fired for several minutes while dozens of people were present inside the building.

Another witness, Ihab Ammareen, described bloodied people collapsing to the floor. He recalled the scene as filled with crying, wailing, and screaming. King Abdullah visited Karak within hours of the shooting. He promised that the perpetrators would be punished with an iron fist and stated that those trying to divide Jordanians with bullets have no chance.

The United States embassy in Amman confirmed that security measures increased at malls, foreign embassies, and other key locations across the country on Saturday. The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, called the incident a depraved and brutal attack on a house of worship. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence against civilians.

Jordan has maintained relative stability despite US reports of repeatedly foiling Islamist militant attacks in recent years. The country was among the US allies hit by Iranian attacks earlier this year after strikes in February. Christians remain a small minority in Jordan, a nation home to several biblical sites that attract pilgrims from around the world.

Outside a government hospital in Karak, Hani Al-Mbaydeen expressed the shock felt by many in the community. He said the state must investigate where dark ideas come from and how they enter the minds of children. The search for the attackers continued as security forces deployed near the church entrance.