Three brothers arrested after three-hour shootout in Jordan

The gun battle lasted approximately three hours before Jordanian security forces secured the village of al-Jadeeda. Authorities arrested three suspects on Monday morning in connection with the deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church.

The suspects are three members of a single Jordanian family, including two brothers. A senior security official told journalists on Monday that the men had been identified early in the investigation but managed to evade capture for several days. They were hiding in an abandoned house in al-Jadeeda, a village located six minutes by car from Hamoud, where the original attack took place.

The Public Security Directorate reported that the suspects refused to surrender when forces arrived at dawn. They opened fire on the security personnel, who returned the shooting. The confrontation ended with all three men in custody. One suspect was critically injured, while the others sustained severe wounds, according to Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh.

Minister al-Farrayeh stated that security services had raided many locations before surrounding the hideout. He noted that the scope of the search expanded until the final operation was executed. The ministry said firearms and ammunition were recovered from the hideout, as reported by the state news agency Petra.

The attack on St. George's Church occurred on Friday during a funeral procession. Armed men entered the compound in the village of Hamoud. They killed eight people and wounded 34 others. Security footage broadcast by Al-Mamlaka TV showed three individuals shooting outside the church before running toward the entrance. Other video clips captured attackers firing at a group of men attempting to flee the building.

Authorities have not named the suspects or identified any specific armed group affiliations. Minister al-Farrayeh described the attackers as a group of extremists with no relationship to humanity. He emphasized that Jordan is adamant that such an attack will not happen again. The directorate stated that terrorism has no place in the country and that the suspects had met their just fate.

King Abdullah II ordered security forces to respond with an iron fist following the incident. He met with the victims and spoke during a National Security Council meeting on Saturday. The king said that the security and safety of Jordanians are a red line and that the hand of justice will reach every terrorist. He had previously stated that the shooting would be met with the harshest retaliation possible.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan ordered three days of national mourning beginning on Friday. Flags were flown at half-mast over government and public institutions. On Sunday, eight victims were buried in Karak in a funeral that drew a large crowd. Their coffins were draped with Jordanian flags as mourners carried them through a heavily secured area.

Karak is home to a minority Christian community in the Muslim-majority kingdom. Christians make up between 2 percent and 3 percent of the population. Social media showed images of the victims, including Mohammad al-Qasous, a Christian. The attack remains the deadliest in the region in recent years.