Jordan’s King Abdullah calls church shooting ‘terror attack’, at least 6 killed: What to know

A shooting at a church in southern Jordan has left six people dead and 28 injured in a rare and major security incident for the country.

The state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka initially reported that unknown gunmen killed seven people and injured 10 others at Hamoud church in Karak province. The assailants exited a vehicle and opened fire during a funeral service before fleeing, according to the outlet.

Al-Mamlaka aired security camera footage of three men approaching the church with guns.

Government spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani later revised the toll, saying in a post on X that six people had been killed and 28 injured.

The Jordanian news outlet Roya reported that security forces deployed to the area to search for the shooters.

Jordan's King Abdullah II released a statement on X calling the incident a "terrorist attack" and saying it will be met "with the harshest retaliation." 

"Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation," he wrote.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Farrayeh told reporters on Friday that the attack was a "terrorist operation carried out by a group of extremists" and that the search for the perpetrators is ongoing.

Christians make up about 2-3% of the population in Jordan, with sizable communities in the capital Amman, Karak and other parts of the country. 

Attacks on churches and Christians have been relatively rare in Jordan, though there has been violence toward Christians at times, including an attack on a Lebanese Christian choir in Amman in 2008, an attempted attack on churches and a Christian cemetery that year and a foiled plot to bomb a Roman Catholic church in 2009. Jordan has also experienced sporadic vandalism targeting Christian sites, including churches and cemeteries.

Jordan has experienced several major security incidents over the past two decades, including the November 2005 suicide bombings of three hotels in Amman that killed at least 57 people, an attack on a police training facility near the capital in November 2015 in which a Jordanian officer killed five people including two Americans and a June 2016 attack by suspected Islamic State militants on a border post that killed seven Jordanian security personnel. 

In December 2016, gunmen carried out attacks in Karak, killing 14 people, including security personnel and civilians. Three US special forces soldiers were also killed by a Jordanian guard at King Faisal Air Base in November 2016.

Editors’ note: Oct. 23, 2026. This article was updated to reflect a revised death toll from government spokesman Mohammad Al-Momani.

This developing story has been updated since initial publication.