Jordan arrests three suspects over church attack in dawn raid: What to know

Jordanian security forces have arrested and identified three suspects in connection with an attack on a Greek Orthodox church on Friday.

At a news conference on Monday, the country’s public security chief said the perpetrators represent only themselves and come from one family.

At least eight people were killed and 34 others wounded in the rare attack in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, about 120km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman. Authorities said the attack was carried out by “extremist terrorists”.

What do we know about the operation to arrest the suspects?

Jordan’s Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh said on Monday that all three suspects were Jordanians and “were identified early on in the wake of the terrorist incident, and the security services employed all the means at their disposal to apprehend them”.

They were hiding in an abandoned house in the village of al-Jadeeda in Karak, the Public Security Directorate said, adding that they refused to surrender and attacked security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three suspects.

They “put up fierce resistance against the security forces, but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries”, al-Farrayeh said.

He added that many locations were raided in efforts to apprehend the suspects, and the scope of the search was expanded until the suspects were surrounded during the final operation.

Al-Farrayeh said that investigations into the attack are ongoing, and added that “everyone who has been part of this terrorist act will be taken to justice.” He also said that Jordan is “adamant that an attack like this doesn’t take place again.”

The Public Security Directorate said the suspects were injured, including one critically , during the dawn raid in Karak on Monday.

“Terrorism has no place among us,” the directorate said, adding that the ⁠⁠suspects had met their “just fate”.

Security forces recovered firearms and ammunition at the suspects’ hideout, the state news agency Petra reported.

A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera that the gun battle to arrest the suspects lasted about three hours in the village of al-Jadeeda, a six-minute drive from Hamoud, where the church attack happened.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II ordered security ⁠⁠forces to respond with an “iron fist” to the unprecedented attack on the Christian minority community.

Yes. The Jordanian Public Security Director Major General Obaidullah Al-Maayta said at a news conference on Monday that the three suspects belong to the same family and include two brothers.

“They are the two brothers Hazza, the planner and mastermind, and Mishal Zeidan Muhammad, and their relative Ahmed Sami Hussein,” he said.

Interior Minister al-Farrayeh said there was no indication that the suspects arrested have ties with other cells.

St George’s Church in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, which was attacked, is known for its medieval-era castle.

Armed men stormed the church compound during a funeral procession on Friday, killing eight people and wounding 34 others.

Security camera footage of the attack circulated online. Video broadcast by Al-Mamlaka TV showed three people shooting outside the church and running towards its entrance.

Other footage showed the attackers opening fire on a group of men outside the building trying to flee.

What has been Jordan’s response to the attack?

“We have apprehended the killers, we are examining all the circumstances that lead young people towards extremism, and we will hold accountable everyone found to have been involved,” al-Farrayeh said in an X post on Monday.

He called for citizens to remain calm and said the tragedy would result in practical measures to protect civilians, urging Jordanians to reject violence.

King Abdullah II, who met the victims, said during a National Security Council meeting on Saturday, “The security and safety of Jordanians are a red line … the hand of justice will reach every terrorist.”

A day earlier, he had said the shooting would be met with the “harshest retaliation” possible.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning, beginning last Friday, with flags flown at half-mast over government and public institutions.

The eight people killed were laid to rest in Karak on Sunday in a funeral that drew a huge crowd.

Their coffins were draped with Jordanian flags as they were carried through the gathered mourners amid a large security presence.

Karak is home to a significant minority Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between 2 and 3 percent of the population.

Social media showed images of the victims, including Mohammad al-Qasous, a Christian.