Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said the vehicle seen in a video documenting the terrorist attack on mourners near a church in Karak Governorate belonged to the family of one of the perpetrators and was not registered in his name personally.
He said investigations will determine whether other individuals facilitated the perpetrators’ ability to carry out the attack.
Al-Faraya explained that the terrorist attack left 40 people injured and nine martyrs, describing it as an unprecedented crime that shook Jordan and drew widespread international condemnation.
He said preliminary indications point to advance planning, including obtaining weapons that were confirmed to have been smuggled, coordinating the vehicles to be used, assigning roles among the perpetrators, and identifying possible escape routes after the attack.
The minister added that investigations will determine the source of the smuggled weapons and whether they were delivered directly to the perpetrators or smuggled into the Kingdom more broadly. They will also establish whether individuals or groups provided logistical assistance or otherwise helped them carry out the operation.
Al-Faraya said security agencies began gathering information from surveillance cameras near the church from the earliest moments after the attack. They identified the individuals appearing in the footage on the first day, then tracked their movements, communications and connections, while simultaneously conducting raids and searches in desert areas, valleys and homes near the scene.
He noted that security agencies used human and technical intelligence sources, drones and an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, in addition to their technical and intelligence capabilities. They also took into account information and observations provided by citizens during the search operations.
Speaking to Al-Mamlaka TV, Al-Faraya said security agencies concluded that the perpetrators had not left the area and believed they were hiding in vacant houses inside the village where they were eventually found.
He said the suspects were inside an abandoned house and opened fire on the security force when it raided the building.
The security force had monitored the suspects using drones and confirmed that they were the wanted individuals. They opened fire on the force before security personnel managed to arrest them alive despite their serious injuries.
