Jordan arrests three men suspected of deadly church attack after shootout

Jordanian security forces have arrested three armed men suspected of a shooting attack at a church last week that killed nine Christians and injured 34 other people, officials say.

The Public Security Directorate (PSD) said the unnamed "terrorists" were located before dawn inside an abandoned house in Karak governorate, south of the capital, Amman.

They refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and wounded all three of them, it added. No security personnel were hurt in the shootout.

No group has yet claimed it was behind Friday's attack by gunmen on a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hmoud, which is in Karak governorate.

King Abdullah II praised security forces for chasing the suspects "to the very end".

"We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated," he wrote on X.

"We pray that the martyrs' souls rest in peace and wish the injured a speedy recovery. May God protect and watch over Jordan and its people."

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said authorities would hold to account anyone involved in the attack and were "examining every factor that leads youth toward extremism".