Karak church attack death toll rises to nine, Jordan's health minister says

KARAK, Jordan — The death toll from a shooting at a church in the village of Hammoud, in Jordan's southern Karak governorate, has risen to nine, Health Minister Ibrahim Al-Bdour told AFP on Saturday, a day after the attack.

Two people who had been in critical condition died of their wounds, the minister said. He told AFP that the death of an eighth victim had been confirmed earlier on Saturday morning.

"The number of fatalities from the attack on the church in the village of Hammoud has risen to nine following the death of a second person who had been in critical condition," Al-Bdour said, according to Middle East Eye, which reported his comments to AFP.

Confirmation from the security services

In a post on Telegram, the Arabic-language channel of Al Jazeera said Jordan's Public Security Directorate had announced the death of a ninth injured person in what it called the "terrorist crime" in Karak. The post is a social media item and its wording could not be checked independently. Its figure matches the one the health minister gave AFP, as reported by Middle East Eye.

Earlier figures

Earlier on Saturday, the Indonesian news agency Antara reported a toll of eight. It cited Al-Bdour, who spoke to the state-run broadcaster Al-Mamlaka. According to Antara, he said one of two people in critical condition at the Prince Ali Military Hospital had died, bringing the total to eight.

Antara quoted the minister as saying 27 injured people were still receiving hospital treatment at that point. One of them remained in critical condition, he said. The sources do not give an updated number of people still in hospital after the ninth death. They also do not say whether the person who died last was the one described as critical in that earlier statement.

The two accounts of the toll reflect different moments in the same day. Antara's report gave eight dead. The later reports, from Middle East Eye and the Telegram post, give nine.

What happened

According to Antara, the attack took place on Friday, 23 October. Two armed men got out of a car and opened fire during a funeral service at the church in Hamoud, in Karak governorate. The village name appears as "Hamoud" in Antara and "Hammoud" in Middle East Eye. This report uses "Hammoud".

Antara said Jordan's Interior Ministry described the incident as a terrorist attack carried out by an extremist group. The agency did not quote the ministry directly. It did not name the group.

Antara also linked to a separate report saying Jordan had declared three days of mourning after the attack. The text of that report was not among the sources reviewed, so its details could not be confirmed here.

What is not confirmed

The sources do not say who the two gunmen were. They do not say whether they were arrested, killed or are still at large. No group is reported to have claimed responsibility. The sources also give no motive.

The sources do not give the identities, ages or nationalities of the dead or the injured. This report does not name them. The sources do not say how many people were attending the funeral service, or whose funeral it was.

Details of the shooting come from a single news agency report, Antara's, which cites Jordanian officials. The Interior Ministry's own statement was not among the sources, so its wording could not be checked directly. Independent accounts from witnesses or other officials were not available either.

The health minister's figures were given in interviews with AFP and with Al-Mamlaka. Both were relayed through other outlets, and the original recordings or transcripts were not reviewed.

Background

Karak governorate lies in southern Jordan. Hammoud is a village there. The sources do not describe the community or the church further.

The attack drew a response at national level. According to Antara, the Interior Ministry classified it as terrorism. The Public Security Directorate used the same term, according to the Telegram post by Al Jazeera Arabic. Antara's linked report says a three-day period of mourning was declared.

The health minister's statements show how the toll changed over about a day. The sources do not say how many people died at the scene on Friday. Antara's figure of eight came after one critically injured person died in hospital. The ninth death followed the death of a second critically injured person, according to Al-Bdour's statement to AFP.

The figure may change if any of those still in hospital die. Al-Bdour's earlier statement said one injured person remained in critical condition. Jordanian officials have not, in the sources reviewed, given a further update on the condition of the injured.

Zenga News will update this report if the authorities release more information on the attackers, the victims or the investigation.