GUNMEN KILL SEVEN PEOPLE AT JORDAN CHURCH FUNERAL

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people, according to the authorities. Officials said 34 others were injured in the attack in Hmoud, a village in Karak governorate. Karak lies about 180 kilometres south of Amman. Khaled Burqan, who attended the funeral, told Jordanian state television that dozens of mourners were inside the church when the shooting began. No one has claimed responsibility.

Burqan said two attackers, armed with a rifle and a pistol, fired at mourners for several minutes. Footage broadcast on Jordanian state television showed two men appearing to carry pistols as they approached the church and fired. A third man appeared to fire a semiautomatic rifle before all three ran towards the church. A government statement described the assailants as unknown and said “investigations are underway at full speed”. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities were working to apprehend those responsible.

Jordan’s director of public security, Obeidallah Maaytah, said 27 of the injured remained under treatment. King Abdullah II said Jordan “will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties”. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and offered condolences. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein called his Jordanian counterpart to express Iraq’s solidarity, according to Hussein’s office. In 2016, gunmen killed 10 people, including seven police officers, in a series of attacks in Karak.