A terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan’s Karak Governorate killed seven people and injured 34 on Friday, the head of the country’s Public Security Directorate said.
Maj. Gen. Obaidullah Al-Maaytah gave the toll at an evening news conference at the governorate headquarters, alongside Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya, the state news agency Petra reported. The church is in the village of Humud.
Those responsible will be arrested soon and brought to justice, Al-Maaytah said, adding that legal measures would be taken against them. Officials have not publicly identified any suspects.
Al-Faraya called the shooting a terrorist operation and a heinous act. He said the attack would only harden Jordanians’ resolve “to reject violence and extremism in all their forms.”
The interior minister opened the briefing by praying for the victims and offering condolences to their families, the people of Karak and all Jordanians. He also wished the injured a speedy recovery.
The figures were the first official toll since the attack. The directorate’s initial announcement said only that gunmen had opened fire inside a church, leaving several people dead and others wounded.
A later directorate statement referred to the incident as a shooting at a funeral. The official statements reviewed did not explain that description.
In that statement, the directorate warned the public against circulating information about the shooting and urged people to rely only on official sources. Spreading unverified information could bring legal accountability, it said.
Hours before the briefing, Amman Prosecutor General Hassan Al-Abdallat barred publication of news or information about the case under Article 39 of the Publications and Publishing Law and Article 225 of the Penal Code.
The ban covers audiovisual, print and digital outlets as well as social media platforms. It includes the course of the investigation, photos and videos related to the case, and information about the ban itself. Official government media supervised by the Ministry of Government Communication are exempt.
Government Communication Minister Mohammad Momani said earlier that security agencies were following up on the shooting in the field. In a post on X, he wrote that official statements would be issued as information was verified and asked the public to rely on official sources.
The health minister began a field tour in the governorate to visit the wounded, according to Momani.
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