Gunmen kill at least seven people at a church funeral in Jordan, in an attack the kingdom calls terrorism aimed at Christians

The mourners had gathered at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hmoud to bury a member of the community. More than 150 people were inside and outside the church when a vehicle pulled up and gunmen got out and started shooting, witnesses told Jordan state broadcaster Al Mamlaka. Security camera footage circulating on social media showed three gunmen firing on the street before moving toward the church. One witness told Al Mamlaka that one attacker carried an AK 47 rifle, and the shooting went on for several minutes.

Picture is an illustration of a church in a southern Jordanian village at dusk.

A woman who survived told CNN the gunmen shouted Allahu Akbar while firing into the church courtyard, where most people were standing. She hid behind the altar with other mourners. It was a massacre, she said. I did not imagine I would get out alive.

At least seven people were killed, as of October 23. The director of public security put the wounded at 34, with 27 still in hospital, and Health Minister Ibrahim al Budour said two of the wounded were in critical condition. The toll was revised several times during the day. The gunmen had not been captured by Friday evening, the public security agency said, and no group had claimed the attack.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said the attack grew out of takfir, the practice of declaring other Muslims and believers to be infidels, and he declared three days of mourning with flags at half staff on government buildings. What happened in Karak was the result of extremist terrorist ideology rooted in takfir, and we will not allow society to go down this path, Hassan said, in remarks carried by the official Petra news agency.

King Abdullah visited the injured at Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein Hospital on Friday. The blood of Jordanians is precious, and we will strike those who transgress against this country with an iron fist, he said on X.

Christians make up about 2 percent of Jordan population, and sectarian attacks are rare in the kingdom. Hmoud has had a Christian community for centuries. Karak was attacked once before in living memory, in 2016, when Islamic State gunmen killed 10 people in the city and at its castle.

The American embassy in Amman offered condolences on behalf of the American people and told United States citizens to expect a heavier police presence across Jordan, including at malls and embassies. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem sent condolences to the families, and Cairo Al Azhar institute, the leading seat of Sunni learning, condemned the killings in the name of the Abrahamic religions. Iraq government also condemned the attack.