AMMAN, Oct 24 — A person wounded in Friday’s attack on a church in southern Jordan has died of their injuries, bringing the number of people killed to eight, Health Minister Ibrahim al-Bdour told AFP on Saturday.

“The number of victims who died in the attack on the church in the village of Hammoud in Karak has risen to eight following the death of one of the injured who was in critical condition,” the minister said.

Another 26 people remain hospitalised, including one in critical condition, he said.

Gunmen stormed the compound of a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate during a funeral procession on Friday and opened fire, Jordanian authorities said.

“A terrorist group has carried out a horrific act, one that is condemned in every respect, and the security services are working round the clock to track them down,” Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a press conference.

Condemning it as a terrorist attack, King Abdullah II, who visited wounded victims hospitalised in Karak, said on X the shooting “will be met with the harshest retaliation”.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered a three-day period of national mourning from Friday, with flags to be flown at half-mast over government and public institutions.

Karak is home to a significant Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom, where Christians make up between two and three per cent of the population. — AFP