Jordan court sentences three to death over Karak church attack

A Jordanian court sentenced three men to death by hanging on Sunday for the October 23 gun attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the south of the country, the military said.

The State Security Court convicted the three, two Jordanian brothers and a relative by marriage, of "committing terrorist attacks" that caused death, weapons offences, "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts" and "promoting the ideas of a terrorist organisation", according to the military statement quoted by Al Jazeera and France 24. The same statement said one of the men was also convicted of providing funds intended to finance terrorist acts.

The ruling came about three weeks after gunmen stormed a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox church in Hammoud village in Karak governorate, killing nine people and wounding 25. France 24 gives the village name as Hamoud and describes the target as a funeral procession.

The suspects fled after the attack and were arrested three days later following clashes with security forces.

Karak governorate is home to many of Jordan's Christians. Al Jazeera put the community at about 300,000 of the kingdom's 11.5 million people, while France 24 said Christians make up about three percent of the population of the Muslim-majority country.

King Abdullah II said those behind the attack would face the "harshest penalties" and offered his condolences to the families of the victims, Al Jazeera reported. He ordered a review of the country's security procedures for responding to attacks.

France 24 reported that the church attack prompted retaliatory strikes on "terrorist organisations" in neighbouring Syria, and that Damascus described the Jordanian strikes as an "unacceptable" breach of its airspace. The other reports did not carry the strikes or the Syrian response.

The sentencing was announced in a military statement on Sunday. All three men were sentenced to hang.