Amman: Jordanian security forces have arrested three men suspected of carrying out an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak that killed nine people and wounded more than two dozen.
The Public Security Directorate said the suspects were arrested following a shootout at dawn on Monday. All three men were wounded during the operation.
No security personnel were injured in the operation in Karak, south of Jordan’s capital, Amman. The city is home to a minority Christian population.
The attack took place on Friday during a funeral at the church. Three men were reported to have participated in the assault.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and no armed group has been accused of carrying it out.
Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya identified the three men as those responsible for the attack.
“The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act,” he said in a phone interview with state television channel Al-Mamlaka.
“They put up fierce resistance against the security forces, but were ultimately subdued and taken into custody, having sustained severe injuries,” he added.
Al-Faraya said the three suspects had been identified soon after the attack and that security services had used all available means to apprehend them.
“There are three individuals involved; they were identified early on in the wake of the terrorist incident, and the security services employed all the means at their disposal to apprehend them,” he said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II directed authorities to respond with “an iron fist” against those he described as outlaws of Islam and anyone seeking to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.