Two gunmen are seen dressed in casual clothes and brandishing pistols, with a third carrying a long gun, before they open fire on the church from an entrance on the street and charge forwards.
“A terrorist group has carried out a horrific act, one that is condemned in every respect, and the security services are working round the clock to track them down,” Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya told a press conference.
“Jordan has been targeted by a terrorist attack carried out by a group of extremists.”
He said the perpetrators had “absolutely no connection whatsoever to human values” and it “only serves to strengthen the Jordanians’ resolve … to combat and fight terrorism in all its forms”.
Mohammed Al-Khalayleh, minister of awqaf, Islamic affairs and holy sites, said “the sanctity of places of worship is inviolable and any violation of this is unacceptable on religious, moral and national grounds”, calling national unity “a red line that must not be crossed”.
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered a three-day period of national mourning from Friday, with flags to be flown at half-mast over government and public institutions.
“HEINOUS”
A witness told Al-Mamlaka the gunmen fired continuously for five minutes before fleeing the scene.
Between 150 and 200 people were in and around the church at the time, the witness said, adding that most of the victims were aged between 50 and 70.
Karak is home to a significant Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between two and three percent of the population.
“We are absolutely certain that Jordanian society will remain impervious to every dark, extremist ideology, and that this criminal act is far removed from – and alien to – the moderate Islam of our country,” it said.
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