JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Tensions have increased between Jordan and neighboring Syria after a mass shooting at a Jordanian church. Jordan launched air strikes it said targeted ISIS fighters in Syria. Syrian authorities say three children were killed in that attack. NPR's Jane Arraf has more.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Jordanians across the country, Christian and Muslim, gathered for prayers after the shooting a week ago at a village church near the city of Karak, about 75 miles south of the capital Amman. Christians make up only about 3% of this largely Muslim kingdom, but their rights are protected under the Jordanian Constitution, and they're an important part of the country's social fabric. Religious violence is extremely rare.
Security footage showed two men with handguns and a third with a rifle shooting for several minutes at a funeral in the village of Hamoud. Nine people were killed and 40 injured.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: Jordan's King Abdullah II said the shooting was an attack on all Jordanians. On Monday, security forces cornered the gunmen in an abandoned house in Karak, opening fire when they refused to surrender. The wounded suspects were arrested. Security officials said they were local men who followed extremist ideology. The officials mentioned no links to any organization, and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: But the following day, Jordan announced it had launched airstrikes in neighboring Syria. The Jordanian government said it killed 20 ISIS fighters and blew up a major weapons depot. But there was doubt in Syria. Civil defense authorities said the only bodies identified were seven civilians, including three children, a woman and an elderly man. Syria said it had not been consulted on the air strikes and temporarily closed its border with Jordan. Officials from both countries pledged to work more closely on security coordination. But there are still questions over whether ISIS was linked to the church attacks, and there are new pledges from Jordan to confront extremism in the country.
Jane Arraf, NPR News, Amman. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
