Sahar al-Halsa hid behind a pillar as gunfire tore through a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan. When the shooting stopped, she ran outside and found her cousin Assem lying wounded on the ground. "I went to him and said: 'Assem, Assem, my darling, answer me'," she told Reuters. He opened his eyes, looked at her, and then he was gone.
A funeral turned into a massacre
The attack happened on Friday, October 23, at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in the Karak governorate, about 120 km southwest of the capital Amman. Gunmen opened fire during a funeral service for the daughter of one of Sahar al-Halsa's cousins, as mourners gathered inside the church. Witnesses said the shooting lasted several minutes, with people screaming in panic as they tried to take cover.
Nine people died in the attack and 40 were wounded, according to authorities. It was a rare assault on Jordan's Christian minority in a country long regarded as one of the Middle East's most stable states. Jordan's King Abdullah, a key United States partner in the fight against Islamist militant groups, ordered security forces to respond with an "iron fist" to what authorities described as extremist terrorism.
"My life starts now, because I was going to die"
Speaking from her home, from where the red dome of St George's church is visible, al-Halsa said she believed God had saved her. "My life starts now, because I was going to die," she said, sitting beside her husband Ziad al-Halsa. Her husband said he ran the short distance to the church after hearing the gunfire, and described his overwhelming relief at finding Sahar safe. "To my cousins, may God have mercy on them," he said.
Another survivor, lawyer Nasser al-Burqan, told Reuters a day earlier that an assailant pointed a handgun at him from about two meters away and opened fire, leaving shattered glass and blood on his face. His son was shot in the leg and treated in hospital.
Manhunt continues as funerals begin
Authorities said they were still searching for the attackers and that it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility. Funeral services for the victims were expected on Sunday, with graves prepared beside the church in the village of Hamoud and security forces deployed around the site.
Speaking ahead of the funerals, priest Yuhanna Hamati sent a message of love and peace, calling the day one of pain, grief and sorrow. Jordanian authorities say they have foiled several Islamist plots in recent years, but an attack of this kind on a church remains highly unusual in the kingdom.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Volatile Reaction (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press.