At least nine people were killed and as many as 40 others were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a church in Jordan’s Karak governate.
They attacked a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, which is around 110 miles south of Amman, the country’s capital.
The gunmen arrived in a car and began shooting inside the church before fleeing, in an attack that government spokesperson Dr al-Momani Mohammad described as “heinous.”
People were gathered at the church for a funeral, and one of the mourners, Khaled Burqan, told Jordan’s al-Mamlaka state-run TV that two gunmen — one armed with a rifle and the other with a pistol — were firing for several minutes.
However, footage aired by al-Mamlaka appears to show three gunmen involved in the attack.
There is expected to be a news briefing by interior ministry officials soon and al-Momani said the prime minister will chair a security council with all ministers present.
So far no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said authorities would “confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties.”
“Whoever imagines that the bullets of treachery can divide the ranks of Jordanians will fail in his endeavour before our steadfastness and unity,” he wrote on X.
“Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation,” he added.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, a Catholic, called it a “heinous terror attack” that “violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners, contradicts all religious and humanitarian values”, according to reports in Lebanon media.
Christians are a minority in Jordan, which is Muslim, but Karak has a sizable Christian community.
Attacks of this kind are rare in Jordan but there have been similar assaults in the past.
In 2016, Islamic State assailants killed 14 people during a series of attacks in Karak.
*This story has been updated. 25 Oct. 2026