Jordan begins three days of mourning after Karak church shooting
Jordan has begun three days of national mourning after a shooting at a church in Karak Governorate, while military medical services have transferred some of those injured for further treatment. The mourning period started on Friday, 23 October, following an incident at the Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Humud.
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on the buildings of ministries, government departments, public institutions and agencies during the period. The government described the incident as a terrorist attack and offered condolences to the families of those killed, the people of Karak and people across the country.
Hospital transfers ordered
In an update issued early on Saturday, 24 October, the Royal Medical Services said Prince Ali bin Al Hussein Military Hospital had received 26 injured people after the shooting in Karak Governorate. The statement said eight people had been transferred by Royal Jordanian Air Force helicopter to Al Hussein Medical City, while three others had been moved to a private hospital.
The medical services said eight injured people remained in hospital and two had been discharged after treatment. It did not give conditions for the people transferred or provide a further breakdown of the 26 people received at Prince Ali bin Al Hussein Military Hospital.
The transfer followed Royal directives conveyed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Majdi Mohammad Al-Harasis. The armed forces said they were mobilising available medical resources in response to the incident.
Casualty accounts require care
Iraq’s foreign ministry said its foreign minister had spoken with Jordan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister on Friday. In its account of that conversation, the ministry said the attack had targeted mourners attending a funeral at a Christian church, and reported six deaths and injuries to about 28 others.
That reported casualty figure should be read separately from the hospital update. The Jordanian medical statement records the number received at one military hospital and the subsequent transfers; it does not set out an overall casualty total. The Jordanian notices reviewed did not give a death toll.
The government notice placed the shooting at the Greek Orthodox Church in Humud, a village in Karak Governorate. It called the victims innocent and said the mourning order expressed national grief and solidarity. The Iraqi statement also expressed solidarity with Jordan and condolences to the bereaved families.
What has not been confirmed
No suspected attacker was named in the official notices reviewed, and they did not set out a motive or describe the circumstances of the shooting beyond the church location and the funeral account. The government’s description of the incident as a terrorist attack is its stated position; the material reviewed does not provide a completed investigation finding.
The immediate official measures are therefore clear: a three-day mourning period has started, government buildings are flying flags at half-mast, and some injured people have been moved to specialist or private care. Further information about the investigation, the condition of those injured and any revised casualty total had not been provided in the notices reviewed.
