Seven Killed as Gunmen Attack Funeral at Church in Central Jordan

Seven people were killed and at least 34 others injured when gunmen attacked a funeral at a church in central Jordan on Friday, officials said. The shooting took place in Hmoud, in the Karak governorate.

The attackers, who have not been identified, reportedly arrived by car, entered the church, opened fire and then fled. No group or person has claimed responsibility.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a news conference that authorities were working to arrest those behind the attack, whom he called a "group of extremists". He described the incident as "painful and horrific" and "unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".

King Abdullah II said authorities would "confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties". The death toll was reported inconsistently at first. Early reports said seven had died, a government spokesperson then said six, and officials later returned to seven.

CCTV footage verified by the BBC appears to show three gunmen approaching the church from a road. Two of them seem to enter what looks like a vehicle entrance to the church grounds, retreat briefly, and come back with a third man. All three appear to be carrying handguns. Separate footage believed to be from the aftermath appears to show dead and wounded people on the ground in chaotic scenes.

Witnesses described panic inside the church. People threw themselves under pews and moved away from the windows, while prayers and screams could be heard throughout the building. Khalid al-Mdanat, who was at the church, told BBC Arabic the attack lasted about 15 minutes, with "people trying to flee while the shooting was still active". He said the gunmen left through the church doors and escaped in a pickup truck "firing as they went".

Another witness said: "I heard something as if a war had just started." A woman inside said gunfire began seconds after a prayer, and that the situation "continued to escalate for 10 continuous minutes". When she got out, she said, "bodies were all in the courtyards".

Security was heavy at the entrance to a hospital in Karak treating the wounded, and roads nearby were closed, forcing people to park and continue on foot. Security was tightened further ahead of a visit by King Abdullah II to see the injured. The mood was tense, with crying and shouting as families mourned. Many residents appeared shocked, frightened and angry, and some voiced frustration at what they called "a failure to take a tougher approach towards terrorists".

Karak has a sizeable Christian community in Jordan, which is majority Muslim. Such violence is rare in the country, though deadly attacks have occurred in the past.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, a Christian head of state, condemned what he called a "heinous terrorist attack", saying it "violated the sanctity of death and funeral mourners" and "contradicts all religious and humanitarian values", according to Lebanese media.