Jordanian Court Sentences Three Men to Death for Fatal Church Attack

A Jordanian court sentenced three men to death by hanging on Sunday for carrying out a fatal gun attack on a Greek Orthodox church that killed nine people last month.

The State Security Court convicted the three men, two brothers and their brother-in-law, of committing terrorist acts, weapons offenses, conspiracy, and promoting the ideas of a terrorist organization.

The attack occurred on October 23 in the village of Hammoud, located in the Karak governorate, where gunmen opened fire on mourners attending a funeral at St George’s church.

While authorities reported nine people died in the shooting, accounts of the number of wounded varied, with some reports citing 25 injuries and others stating 34.

The incident targeted a minority Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, prompting King Abdullah II to vow a firm response to those who attempt to divide the country.

“The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” King Abdullah II wrote on X shortly after the shooting occurred.

The suspects fled the scene following the shooting and were apprehended three days later after a shootout with security forces at an abandoned house in the Karak governorate.

The Public Security Directorate reported that all three men were wounded during the confrontation, though no security personnel were harmed in the exchange of fire.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Jordanian military launched airstrikes in Syria against what it described as terrorist organizations linked to the perpetrators.

Jordan claimed the strikes destroyed several militant positions, while Syrian officials reported that five civilians, including women and children, were killed in the village of Daraa province.

The court ruling marks a significant judicial response to the violence, though the specific motivations behind the attackers' choice of the church remain unclear to investigators.