At least seven killed in attack at church in Jordan, state-owned outlet says

Oct 23 (Reuters) – At least seven people were killed and 10 others injured on Friday when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, the state-owned television station Al-Mamlaka reported.

Security forces had deployed at the church and were pursuing the suspects, the station reported. It said two gunmen got out of a vehicle and opened fire during a funeral procession at the Hamoud church inKarak.

Khaled Burqan, a manwho had been attending the funeral, told Al-Mamlaka that dozens of people had been attending the funeral and two men — one carrying a rifle and another carrying a pistol — opened fire on them for several minutes.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and Jordanian authorities did not say who was responsible.

Such attacks are extremely rare in Jordan, which is relatively stable but has been increasingly targeted by Iranian attacks this year since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February.

Christians make up a minority of Jordan’s population though the country is home to several biblical sites that attract Christian pilgrims from around the world.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Eman Abouhassira; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Aidan Lewis)