Three men have been arrested over a Jordan church attack that killed nine people and wounded more than two dozen others, the country’s security authorities said.
The suspects were detained after a shootout at dawn in Karak governorate, south of Amman. All three were wounded during the operation, while no security personnel were injured, according to the Public Security Directorate.
The attack took place on Friday at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud, during a funeral. Three men were reported to have taken part.
Jordan’s Interior Minister, Mazen Al-Faraya, said the detained men were responsible for what he described as a terrorist act. He said they had been identified shortly after the attack and that security services had used every available means to capture them.
“The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act,” Mr Al-Faraya said in an interview with state television. “They put up fierce resistance against the security forces, but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and no armed organisation has been accused. Authorities have not named the suspects or indicated any possible links to Islamist militant groups.
King Abdullah II ordered authorities to respond with “an iron fist” against what he called the outlaws of Islam and anyone seeking to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.
The Public Security Directorate said: “Terrorism has no place among us,” adding that the three men had met their “just fate”.
