Jordan church shooting kills 8, U.S. Embassy steps up security

The U.S. Embassy in Amman, the Jordanian capital, said security measures had been stepped up at shopping malls, foreign embassies and other places across Jordan following a fatal church shooting on the 23rd that authorities described as a terrorist act by extremists.

According to the Jordanian Public Security Bureau, the attack occurred on the 23rd at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud village in Karak Province. Multiple gunmen who drove in got out of their vehicles and opened fire on the funeral procession, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. On the 24th, Jordanian state-owned television station Al Mamlaka TV said that the death toll in the church shooting had risen to eight.

No organization or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the crime, and the Jordanian authorities, who have vowed to go all out to find the murderer, say it is too early to conclude that the gunman is related to known organizations in Jordan and abroad.

Such attacks are extremely rare in Jordan. Jordan is one of the allies of the United States in the Middle East. Since the United States and Israel jointly launched an attack on Iran in February this year, Jordan has been subject to retaliatory attacks from Iran from time to time.

Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan denounced the case as the result of terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Jordanian King Abdullah II, who visited Karak Province after the incident, vowed to punish the perpetrators with "iron fist".