Seven shot dead by gunmen at church funeral in Jordan, officials say
Seven people were killed and thirty-four wounded when gunmen opened fire on a funeral inside a church in Karak governorate, central Jordan. A manhunt is underway.
Seven people have been killed and at least thirty-four wounded in an attack on a funeral inside a church in central Jordan, officials say.
Gunmen arrived by car at the church in Hmoud, in the Karak governorate, on Friday, stormed inside and opened fire on the mourners before fleeing in a pickup truck. Between one hundred and fifty and two hundred people were in the church at the time.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as people threw themselves under pews. One witness said the attack lasted around fifteen minutes, with the gunmen firing as they fled.
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the attackers as a group of extremists and said a manhunt is underway. King Abdullah the Second vowed the harshest penalties, calling it a terrorist act. Such violence is rare in Jordan, which has a sizeable Christian community in Karak.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.