[REVISION HISTORY]

Terrorist attack on Karak church and subsequent retaliation

Updated 19 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-27 00:53 UTC → 2026-10-27 01:32 UTC · added ~~removed~~

On October 23, 2026, masked gunmen launched a terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hmoud, located in Jordan’s Karak governorate. The shooting occurred during a funeral ceremony at St. George’s church, resulting in nine deaths and at least 40 injuries among the approximately 150 to 200 people present. Witnesses reported that three gunmen—two armed with handguns and one with a semi-automatic rifle—arrived in a vehicle and opened fire for several minutes. Some survivors reported that the attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar” and continued to fire at individuals even after they had fallen. King Abdullah II condemned the incident as a “despicable terrorist act,” stating that the security of Jordanians is a “red line.” The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem also condemned the attack, asserting that such violence would not undermine the unity between Muslim and Christian communities in Jordan. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan and Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh declared a three-day period of national mourning. On October 25, Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects—Hazza Zaidan Mohammed, his brother Mishal Zaidan Mohammed, and their relative Ahmed Sami Hussein—following a dawn raid on an abandoned house in Al-Jadida, Karak. The suspects engaged in a three-hour armed clash with security forces; all three were wounded and taken into custody. Firearms and ammunition were seized at the scene. On October 26, the Jordanian Armed Forces conducted airstrikes in the Deraa and Suwayda provinces of southern Syria in retaliation for the church attack. The operation, named “Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud,” targeted sites linked to terrorist organizations. While Jordan reported the destruction of vehicles and the killing or wounding of group members, Syrian officials reported that several civilians, including women and children, were killed. Jordanian authorities claimed the strikes were carried out in coordination with the Syrian government to target organizations linked to the attackers, though the Syrian government denied prior coordination and launched an investigation. Following the military action, Syrian authorities announced the closure of the Nassib border crossing with Jordan, suspending all passenger and commercial traffic.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.