Crimeupdated 57m ago3 min read
MapJordan Arrests Three Terrorists After Three-Hour Armed Clash In Hamoud Church Attack
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Three attackers were arrested after an armed confrontation at Hamoud Church in Karak. Authorities said the assailants were Jordanians with no external-group links.
Three attackers captured
Jordan’s Public Security Directorate announced that specialized investigation and raid teams arrested the three “terrorists” who carried out the “terrorist operation” that targeted Jordanian citizens inside a church in the town of Hamoud, in Karak Governorate. The directorate said the raid carried out by security forces resulted in all three assailants being injured and captured following an armed clash, with no injuries reported among security forces. A Jordanian official told Al Jazeera Net in a private interview that a fierce exchange of fire lasted about three hours before the attackers were apprehended.
The official said the attackers took shelter in an abandoned house in Karak Governorate, refused to surrender, and opened fire at security forces, with ongoing search and sweep operations leading security forces to locate them inside an abandoned house in al-Jadida village in Karak Governorate. Interior Minister Mazen Al-Fraieh said security agencies made substantial operational and intelligence efforts since the first day of the attack, including raids on multiple locations and expanding the search to areas where the perpetrators could have moved.
Casualties and funerals
Jordan’s state television reported that the attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate killed 9 people and wounded 25 others, and it said specialized investigation and raid teams apprehended the three suspects after an armed clash left them wounded.
The Kuwait Times also reported that King Abdullah II told a National Security Council meeting on Saturday that “the security and safety of Jordanians are a red line”, and it said the king added that “the hand of justice will reach every terrorist.”
Anadolu Ajansı said the attack targeted mourners at St. George’s Church in the village of Hamoud on Friday, killing nine people, and it said thousands of Jordanians participated in victims’ funeral ceremonies on Sunday with Prime Minister Jeffer Hassan and the head of the Royal Court, Yousef Al-Eisawi.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Jordan declared three days of national mourning after the assault, and it said King Abdullah II visited the injured at Karak Government Hospital.
The National reported that Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said security forces located the three suspects early on Monday hiding in an abandoned house, and it said the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded.
No external links
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Fraiya told Al-Mamlaka that the three attackers were Jordanians and that there are no indicators confirming ties to external entities, while he stressed that discussing this matter remains premature.
“We will turn this tragedy into measures that protect the lives of citizens. May God safeguard Jordan.”
Al-Fraiya said security forces were able to identify the three attackers from the start of the incident and used available technical and visual means to collect information and determine their hiding place, in addition to questioning suspects.
The National Security Council meeting chaired by King Abdullah II directed a thorough security assessment of the response to the attack and a review of counter-extremist policies, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said security forces found the three suspects hiding in an abandoned house in Karak early Monday, and it said the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, which returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded.
Al-Fraiya pledged to turn the “tragedy” of the Karak terrorist operation into measures that protect lives, and he said, “We will turn this tragedy into measures that protect the lives of citizens. May God safeguard Jordan.”