Six people were killed and 28 injured on Friday when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan's Karak governorate, the country's Public Security Directorate said in a statement.
Jordan's King Abdullah II described the attack as “terrorist”. Security forces had deployed to the church and were pursuing the suspects, the state-owned Al Mamlaka TV reported.
Karak is home to a minority Christian population in the Muslim-majority kingdom.
King Abdullah said the attack would be met with the harshest retaliation, vowing to crack down on those responsible and stressing that the shooting would not undermine national unity.
“The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” he said in a post on X. “Those who delude themselves into thinking that they can divide Jordanians with their bullets have no chance in the face of our unity. All Jordanians, from north to south, are partners in land and fate, and nothing stands between them.
“Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation.”
The King also offered his condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Gunmen arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on mourners before fleeing, a relative of one of the deceased told The National. They continued shooting for about five minutes, according to a witness quoted by state-owned broadcaster Al Mamlaka TV.
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.
A member of the Halasah family in Karak told The National that three doctors were among those killed.
“This was a direct attack on the church. Christians were the target,” the relative said.
Al Mamlaka had previously reported that at least seven people had been killed and more than 10 wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and Jordanian authorities did not say who was responsible.
Such incidents are very rare in Jordan, which is relatively stable but has come under Iranian attacks since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. The kingdom is home to several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.
Karak is about 100km from the capital, Amman.