Shock and grief in a Jordanian village after church attack

HAMMOUD, Jordan (AFP) — Workers were cleaning the last traces of blood from St George’s Church in Jordan’s Hammoud the day after a deadly attack, when visitors arrived to express their solidarity amid an atmosphere of shock and grief.

At noon on Saturday, the bells of the Greek Orthodox church in Jordan’s Karak Governorate, south of Amman, rang in unison alongside churches across Jordan, mourning the victims of the unprecedented attack against Christians in the kingdom, which left nine dead and 25 wounded according to the latest toll from the authorities.

Sayel al-Khaitan, a doctor who was inside the church when the attack, which took place during a funeral, began, described what happened as a tragedy.