How were the three suspects in the Jordan church attack arrested?

The Public Security Directorate said officers found the suspects early Monday hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. They refused to surrender and fired at security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded; firearms and ammunition were found in their possession.

What is known about the suspects’ affiliation or motive in the Jordan church shooting?

Authorities have not identified the suspects’ affiliation or said whether they belonged to a militant group. Jordanian officials described the attackers as extremist terrorists, but said it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups, and no group had claimed responsibility.

What response did Jordan’s leaders announce after the church attack?

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities were reviewing the circumstances that led young people toward extremism and would hold anyone found to have participated accountable. King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist.”

Jordan arrests three suspects in deadly church attack, state media says

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Summary

Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects early Monday in an abandoned house in Karak, after a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud on Friday killed nine people and wounded 40. The suspects were wounded in an exchange of fire before their arrest, and authorities found firearms and ammunition. Officials have not identified their affiliations or established links to known militant groups. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities were reviewing what led young people toward extremism and would hold participants accountable.

Key Facts

The attack took place during a funeral and lasted several minutes, according to witnesses.
The church is in Karak governorate, about 120 kilometers southwest of Amman.
The Public Security Directorate said no security personnel were injured during the arrest operation.
King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist” to the attack.
Authorities said there had been no claim of responsibility and that it was too early to determine whether the attackers had links to groups inside or outside Jordan.

By Reuters

Published Oct 26, 2026 1:29 pm KST

Journalists and other people stand outside a Greek Orthodox church cordoned off with crime scene tape hours after gunmen opened fire during a funeral in Hamoud village, Jordan's Karak governorate, Oct. 23. AP-Yonhap

Jordanian security forces have arrested three suspects in connection with an attack on a church in the US-allied country that killed nine people, state television reported on Monday.

The attack, in which gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church on Friday in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital Amman, also wounded 40 others. The shooting lasted several minutes, witnesses said.

Jordan's Public Security Directorate said security forces located the three suspects early on Monday hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. The suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded, the directorate said in a statement carried on state media.

No security personnel were injured, and a number of firearms and ammunition were found in the suspects' possession after their arrest.

"Terrorism has no place among us," the directorate said, adding that the suspects had met their "just fate".

The Public Security Directorate

did not identify the suspects' affiliation or say whether they belonged to any militant group.

Jordanian authorities have said the attack was carried out by "extremist terrorists", but it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. There has been no claim of responsibility.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said on Monday authorities were reviewing the circumstances that led young people towards extremism and would hold accountable anyone found to have participated in the attack.

King Abdullah, a US partner in the fight against Islamist militant groups, has ordered security forces to respond with an "iron fist" to the rare attack on Jordan's Christian minority.

Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable state in the Middle East, though authorities say they have foiled several Islamist militant plots over the years.

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