Three men have been sentenced to death by Jordan’s State Security Court over a church attack in Karak that killed nine people.
The men were convicted of offences including carrying out terrorist acts resulting in death, possessing weapons and ammunition for terrorist purposes, and promoting the ideology of a terrorist group.
Two other defendants were sentenced to six years in prison, according to a lawyer representing the victims’ families.
The rulings remain subject to appeal and automatic review by Jordan’s Court of Cassation.
The attack took place on October 23 during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, in the southern governorate of Karak. Gunmen opened fire, killing nine people and injuring 34 others.
It was described as a rare attack on Jordan’s Christian minority.
Security forces arrested the three men on October 26 following a shootout at an abandoned house in Karak. All three were wounded, while no security personnel were injured, according to the Public Security Directorate.
Jordan later launched air strikes on southern Syria against groups it linked to the church attack. Syrian authorities said seven people, including three children and a woman, were killed.
Jordan subsequently acknowledged that civilians had been killed in the strikes, and the two countries agreed to establish a joint security committee to review the incident and its consequences.
