DOMINANT ANGLE
Canberra is closely monitoring the attack on Karak by tracking the shooters: Australian media is reporting the successive tolls, the lack of claims and the exceptional nature of such violence in a Jordan deemed relatively stable.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to SBS (Reuters), seven people have died and 40 were injured during the funeral at Hamoud church, Karak governorate, according to the head of Public Security and the Minister of Health.
- 02
ABC reports that a vehicle dropped off the attackers, who fired continuously for five minutes in front of 150 to 200 people before fleeing.
- 03
No claim of responsibility: the Interior Minister mentions "extremists" but considers it too early to establish a link with known groups.
ANALYSIS
Canberra, 24 October 2026. The Australian press is treating the Karak shooting as an ongoing security incident, reported live and based on dispatches from Jordanian state agencies and media.
The ABC opens with a still uncertain toll: "at least six" dead according to the authorities, and 28 injured according to the Public Security Directorate, while state media had initially reported seven dead. The media describes a Greek Orthodox church in the Karak region, about 180 kilometres south of Amman, where 150 to 200 people were attending a funeral. A witness quoted by state television claims that a vehicle dropped off the shooters, who fired continuously for five minutes before fleeing.
SBS, which reprints a text from Reuters, reports seven dead and 40 injured, a figure given by the Jordanian Minister of Health. General Abdallah al-Maaytah, head of Public Security, indicates that the hunt for the assailants is ongoing. Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh speaks of "extremists" but judges it too early to know if they have links with known groups, in Jordan or abroad. The video from the Al-Mamlaka channel, verified by Reuters, shows three people shooting from a sidewalk, hiding behind trees and a wall, then running towards the entrance of the church.
PerthNow, on the other hand, anchors the event in the regional context. The media recalls that Jordan, relatively stable, is "increasingly targeted by Iranian attacks" this year, since the American and Israeli strikes against Iran in February, and notes that Christians are a minority there, in a country rich in biblical sites that attract pilgrims. It also quotes a participant in the funeral, Khaled Burqan, who says that two men, one armed with a rifle and the other with a pistol, fired for several minutes.
The three media outlets stress that no claim of responsibility has been made and that the authorities have not designated any perpetrator. SBS specifies that the authorities of this US ally say they have foiled several attempts at attacks by Islamist militants in recent years. The ABC indicates that the investigation is ongoing and that its conclusions will be announced as they become available.
The Australian account remains factual and focused on established facts: toll, chronology, search for the perpetrators. Jordanian and international political reactions are given little space.
