Jordan arrests three suspects in deadly church attack

Security forces have arrested three ⁠⁠armed suspects in Jordan after days of searching for the attackers who killed nine people and wounded dozens at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, state media report.

The suspects were located on Monday while hiding in an abandoned house in the village of Al-Jadeeda in Karak, Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said.

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They refused to surrender and attacked security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after wounding them, the directorate said in a statement published on state media.

A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera that the attackers sustained serious injuries during the confrontation with the security forces.

One of the suspects was in a critical condition as a result of the injuries sustained during the fighting, which lasted for about three hours, the source said.

No casualties were reported among security personnel, and a search of the site yielded firearms and live ammunition, according to Jordan’s Petra News Agency.

“Terrorism has no place among us,” the directorate said, adding that the ⁠⁠suspects had met their “just fate” while not mentioning any specific affiliated groups.

In a statement posted on X early on Monday, Government Communication Minister Mohammad Momani commended the efforts of security forces involved in what he called a successful joint operation. Momani confirmed that all three suspects were injured and taken into custody following fighting after they refused to surrender.

Later, a senior Jordanian security official told reporters that the church attackers were from one family, including two brothers, adding that there is no indication the suspects have ties with other groups.

On Friday, three gunmen opened fire at a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud in Karak, about ‌‌120km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, killing eight people and injuring 40, according to Jordan’s Ministry of Health.

Of the injured, 27 remained in hospital on Monday. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in the city of Karak said one person was in critical condition after undergoing surgery.

Karak is home to many members of Jordan’s Christian minority, which makes up about 300,000 of the country’s 11.5 million people.

King Abdullah II said those behind the attack would face the “harshest penalties” as he offered his condolences to the victims’ families. He has ordered a review of the country’s security procedures for responding to attacks.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya added that authorities were reviewing the circumstances that ‌‌lead ‌‌young people to embrace violence and would hold accountable anyone found to have participated in the attack.