Thousands Mourn Victims of Deadly Church Attack in Jordan

Thousands of mourners gathered on Sunday for the funerals of eight people killed in a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan, Al Jazeera reported. The burials took place beside St George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud, southwest of the capital, Amman. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan attended the funeral service on behalf of the king, along with government ministers and senior military and civilian officials.

The attack took place on Friday, October 23, during another funeral at the church, which is in Karak province. Two masked gunmen carried out the attack, and about 170 to 200 people were at the church when the shooting began. Nine people were killed and dozens were wounded. A priest at the church described panic as the gunmen opened fire, and Reuters obtained surveillance video showing the moment the shooters arrived outside the church.

Christians make up about 3 percent of Jordan's largely Muslim population. Officials had not established whether the attackers were connected to an armed group, and no organisation had claimed responsibility. Jordanian authorities described the attack as "extremist terrorism." At the time of the Sunday funerals, the assailants were still being sought.

Jordan declared three days of national mourning after the attack. King Abdullah visited some of the wounded in hospital on Friday, and he ordered an "iron fist" response, according to Reuters. Hassan spoke at a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening. The U.S. Embassy said security had been stepped up across Jordan after the attack.

Abroad, Jordan's embassy in Washington held a vigil for the victims. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed condolences over the shooting, and Pope offered prayers for the victims and the injured.

The ninth victim, Mohammed al-Qasous, was due to be buried on Monday.