Jordan arrests three suspects in deadly church attack

Security forces have arrested three ⁠armed suspects in Jordan after days of searching for the attackers who killed eight individuals and wounded dozens at a church in Jordan's Karak governorate, state media report.

Key points

• The suspects were located on Monday while hiding in an abandoned house in the village of Al-Jadeeda in Karak, Jordan's Public Security Directorate remarked.
• No casualties were documented among security personnel, and a search of the site yielded firearms and live ammunition, according to Jordan's Petra News Agency.
• A Jordanian administration source informed Al Jazeera that the attackers sustained serious injuries during the confrontation with the security forces.
• According to Momani, all three suspects were injured and taken into custody after fighting after they refused to surrender.
• King Abdullah II remarked those behind the attack would face the "harshest penalties" as he offered his condolences to the victims' families.

Notably, the suspects were located on Monday while hiding in an abandoned house in the village of Al-Jadeeda in Karak, Jordan's Public Security Directorate remarked.

They refused to surrender and attacked security forces. This person returned fire and arrested all three after wounding them, the directorate remarked in an official note published on state media.

For context, a Jordanian administration source informed Al Jazeera that the attackers sustained serious injuries during the confrontation with the security forces.

One of the suspects was in a critical condition since of the injuries sustained during the fighting. It lasted for concerning three hours, the source noted.

"Terrorism has no place among us, " the directorate remarked, adding that the ⁠suspects had met their "just fate" while not mentioning any specific affiliated groups.

In an official note posted on X early on Monday, Administration Communication Minister Mohammad Momani commended the efforts of security forces involved in what he called a successful joint operation. According to Momani, all three suspects were injured and taken into custody after fighting after they refused to surrender.

On Friday, three gunmen opened fire at a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud in Karak, regarding ‌120km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, killing eight residents and injuring 40, according to Jordan's Ministry of Health.

Of the injured, 27 remained in hospital on Monday. The director of Prince Ali Military Hospital in the city of Karak remarked one person was in critical condition after undergoing surgery.

Karak is home to plenty of members of Jordan's Christian minority. It makes up concerning 300, 000 of the country's 11.5 million individuals.

King Abdullah II remarked those behind the attack would face the "harshest penalties" as he offered his condolences to the victims' families. He has ordered a review of the country's security procedures for responding to attacks.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya continued that authorities were reviewing the circumstances that ‌lead ‌young residents to embrace violence and would hold accountable anyone discovered to have participated in the attack.

In short, jordan arrests three suspects in deadly church attack is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.