Jordanian security forces cornered the three men the government accuses of opening fire on mourners inside a village church, and took all three alive after a fierce fight at dawn.
Nine people were killed and dozens wounded in the attack on a Greek Orthodox church, and the Public Security Directorate said the men were arrested over it on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.
An abandoned house in Al-Jadida was the scene of the dawn shootout that preceded the arrests. That village sits in Karak governorate, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Hammoud and roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Amman. The gunfire wounded all three suspects, while no member of the security forces was hurt.
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya told state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka in a phone interview that investigators identified the three early and used every available means to run them down. The suspects resisted hard before officers subdued them and took them into custody with severe injuries, he said. “The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act,” Al-Faraya said.
They Fired Again at the Fallen
The gunmen struck Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud, in Karak, during a funeral service on Friday, Oct. 23. A blue pickup truck brought the three men to the church, authorities said. One of them wore a mask and carried a Kalashnikov rifle, while the other two kept their faces uncovered and carried handguns.
Mourners had gathered near the main entrance when the attackers opened fire there, shooting continuously for about five minutes before driving off. Up to 200 mourners were inside and around the church, one person present said, and most of the victims were between 50 and 70 years old, the same person said. The attackers brought large quantities of ammunition with them, reloaded several times and shot some victims again where they had fallen, Al Jazeera’s Arabic service reported.
Nasser al-Burqan, a lawyer who survived the shooting, told Reuters that an attacker stood about 2 meters (6.5 feet) away, aimed a handgun at him and fired. His son was also at the service, and later called him from a hospital, shot in the leg.
Khalid al-Mdanat, a man who was at the church, told BBC Arabic the attack lasted around 15 minutes and that the gunmen fled in a pick-up truck, “firing as they went.”
Two Brothers and a Relative by Marriage
Brothers Hazza Zaidan Mohammed and Meshal Zaidan Mohammed, along with their relative by marriage, Ahmad Sami Hussein, were named as the suspects by Public Security Director Maj. Gen. Obeidallah al-Maaytah on Monday, Oct. 26. Authorities said the three extremists lived near Hammoud and decided on the attack while following the funeral procession.
No group has claimed responsibility, and authorities have accused no armed group. Al-Faraya said investigators found no links to other extremist cells or organizations. A public prosecutor barred publication of details of the investigation. Media reports citing Jordanian government and security sources said the attackers espoused takfiri ideology, an extremist outlook that brands even other Muslims unbelievers.
The directorate declared that terrorism has no place in the country. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan blamed the bloodshed on terrorist ideology and “blind extremism.” Al-Faraya said anyone involved in the attack would be held accountable, and that the government was “examining every factor that leads youth toward extremism.”
The casualty counts shifted through the weekend as the wounded were treated. The Health Ministry put the number of injured at 40 as of Oct. 24, with 27 still hospitalized. Officials put the number of wounded at 34 on Oct. 26.
Bells at Noon Across Jordan
King Abdullah II traveled to Karak and visited the wounded at Prince Ali Military Hospital. He ordered a review of how the kingdom’s security agencies respond to terrorist attacks and vowed the harshest penalties for those responsible. “Those who imagined that treacherous bullets could divide Jordanians have been thwarted by our resilience and unity,” the king said.
After the arrests, the king posted on X on Oct. 26: “We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated.” He praised the security forces for chasing the suspects “to the very end.” His directive called for an iron fist against what he called the outlaws of Islam, and anyone attempting to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.
Hours after the arrests, on the evening of Monday, Oct. 26, Jordan’s air force struck militant positions in southern Syria held by groups the military linked to the attackers. Syria’s civil defense said at least seven civilians were killed in Daraa and Sweida provinces. Al-Faraya had said there was no indication the attackers had foreign links.
The patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem asked that the dead be remembered with bells, and churches across Jordan rang them at noon on Saturday, Oct. 24. Those leaders condemned the killing of worshippers during a burial and said the violence would not fracture Jordanian society. Pope Leo XIV, in his Angelus address on Oct. 25, prayed for the dead and the injured and spoke of his nearness to a country long known for coexistence between faiths.
Eight Graves Beside St George’s
Mourners buried eight of the nine victims beside St George’s church on Sunday, Oct. 25, at a funeral led by Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III. The eight were Dr. Maher Zureiqat, Ihab al-Halsa, Dr. Fadi al-Halsa, Dr. Khaled al-Halsa, Dr. Asim al-Burqan, Alaa al-Masarwa, Marwan Khaitan and Mazen al-Qassous. The ninth victim, Dr. Mohammed al-Qassous, was laid to rest near Amman on Monday, Oct. 26.
Theophilos III visited wounded survivors on Sunday, Oct. 25, and condemned the attack as a “vile, cowardly, and bloody act.”
Hammoud is one of the small Christian communities scattered across Karak, home to one of the country’s minority Christian populations. Christians number about 300,000 of Jordan’s 11.5 million people. Government spokesman Mohammad Momani said the whole of Jordanian society is attacked whenever any Jordanian is attacked, whatever their faith.
