Thousands of Jordanians participated on Sunday in the funeral procession for the victims of the attack that targeted mourners at a church in the village of Hammoud in Karak Governorate, in the south of the country.
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Official and popular funeral ceremonies were held at St. George's Church in the village, where prayers were offered for the victims, in the presence of Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan, representing the country's monarch, King Abdullah II.
The bodies were transported in coffins wrapped in the Jordanian flag, in a procession that set off from Karak Government Hospital towards Hamoud village, where the victims were buried in a site prepared opposite the church, which includes a mass grave and a memorial to commemorate them.
Earlier on Sunday, Jordanian Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan called for intensifying efforts to "eradicate extremist ideology," stressing that confronting it is "not just a security battle" but a "battle of awareness and thought."
This came during a cabinet meeting, in which he confirmed that state agencies are working to arrest the perpetrators of the attack, according to what the Prime Minister’s office published on its Facebook account.
Hassan said: “Over the past forty years, unfortunately, extremism, fanaticism, and takfiri ideology have begun to spread, and it is necessary to continue and intensify efforts to eradicate them from their roots.”
He added that “there is absolutely no place for him in this country and in this society,” noting that Jordan has fought those he described as “Takfiri extremists” throughout the past decade, and continues to do so.
He stressed that “this is not just a security battle, this is a battle of awareness and thought,” warning that “peoples and homelands collapse when sedition, fanaticism, racism and extremism spread in their societies.”
He stressed that “diversity, cohesion and openness” achieve intellectual, scientific, civilizational and cultural prosperity, and build distinguished societies, noting that these values are among the foundations upon which the Kingdom was established.
Regarding the pursuit of the perpetrators of the Karak attack, Hassan said that “all state agencies are working to arrest these criminals so that they receive the punishment that people like them deserve.”
On Friday, gunmen targeted mourners at the church, and the attack resulted in 9 deaths and 25 injuries, according to the official “Al-Mamlaka” channel.
Jordan has declared three days of national mourning starting Friday, with flags to be flown at half-mast above government ministries, government departments, institutions and public bodies.
King Abdullah II visited the injured at Karak Government Hospital and vowed to confront the attack with “the harshest punishments,” stressing that “the bullets of treachery” will not divide the ranks of Jordanians.
On Saturday, the King chaired a meeting of the National Security Council, during which he directed the preparation of a comprehensive security assessment of the mechanism for dealing with the attack, and a review of policies to combat extremist ideology .
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya described the attack as a “terrorist operation carried out by a group of extremists,” stressing that security services are working around the clock to reach the perpetrators.
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