Jordan arrests 3 in dawn raid over deadly church attack

Karak is home to a significant Christian community in Muslim-majority Jordan, where Christians make up between 2% and 3% of the population.(AFP) — Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects Monday in an attack on a church last week that killed nine people, authorities said. The three were wounded in a dawn raid and shootout.The kingdom’s Public Security Directorate said the group was cornered at an abandoned house where they had barricaded themselves and opened fire on security forces.“All three terrorists have been injured. They have been taken to hospital and are still receiving treatment,” Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Maaytah, director of public security, told a news conference.On Friday, gunmen stormed the compound of the Greek Orthodox St. George’s Church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate during a funeral procession, authorities said.Karak is home to a significant Christian community in Muslim-majority Jordan, where Christians make up between 2% and 3% of the population.The arrested suspects — two brothers and another man related by marriage — are Islamic extremists, Al-Maaytah said, adding that they would be investigated and brought before the courts.“This country must remain an oasis of security and stability, and we affirm that Jordan will remain impervious to anyone who dares to challenge it,” he said.One of the suspects was in critical condition, Jordan’s state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka reported. There were no casualties among security forces, it added.Under Jordanian law, murder is punishable by hanging.Attacks on houses of worship in Jordan are rare. In 2016, an attack in Karak targeted a security center and police patrols, leaving 10 people dead.Weapons and a large quantity of ammunition were seized from the three suspects, the Public Security Directorate said.Jordan’s King Abdullah II said in a post on X that security forces “chased them to the very end.”“We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated,” he wrote.Earlier, the king visited wounded victims of the church attack in the hospital, dressed in military fatigues and carrying a pistol on his hip.“We will show them,” he vowed.Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told Al-Mamlaka on Monday that the attackers were all Jordanians and “had been holed up in a building in one of the villages near the site of the attack.”“There is no indication of any external contacts or collaboration with foreign parties,” he said.Government Communications Minister Mohammad al-Momani said, “We stand ready and will strike with an iron fist, without mercy or leniency, against anyone who attempts to undermine Jordan’s security.”On Friday, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered a three-day period of national mourning for the victims of the church attack, with flags to be flown at half-staff over government and public institutions.Eight of the nine victims were laid to rest Sunday next to the church in a funeral that drew a huge crowd amid a large security presence, AFP images showed.The ninth victim, Mohammed al-Qasous, was buried in south Amman on Monday.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads