Two people wounded in Friday’s (October 24, 2026) attack on a church in southern Jordan have died of their injuries, bringing the number of people killed to nine, health minister Ibrahim al-Bdour told AFP .
Karak is home to a significant Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between two and three percent of the population. Gunmen stormed the compound of a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate during a funeral procession on Friday (October 23) and opened fire, Jordanian authorities said. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning from Friday (October 23), with flags to be flown at half-mast over government and public institutions.
“The number of victims who died in the terrorist attack on the church in the village of Al-Hamoud in Karak has risen to nine following the death on Saturday of a second casualty who had been in a critical condition,” the Minister said. “Another 25 people remain hospitalised,” he added. King Abdullah II, who met with victims after the attack, said during a National Security Council meeting on Saturday that “the security and safety of Jordanians are a red line”, adding that “the hand of justice will reach every terrorist”. He said on Friday (October 23) that the shooting would be met with the “harshest retaliation” possible. “A terrorist group has carried out a horrific act, one that is condemned in every respect, and the security services are working round the clock to track them down,” interior minister Mazen al-Faraya told a press conference.
