Three suspects have been arrested in Jordan in connection with an attack on an Orthodox church that left nine people dead.

The arrests were reported by Reuters.

The attack took place on Friday during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamud, in Karak Governorate, approximately 120 kilometres southwest of the country’s capital, Amman. Another 40 people were injured. Witnesses said the shooting lasted several minutes.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said the suspects were located in an abandoned house in Karak. They refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces. Officers returned fire, wounding all three suspects before taking them into custody. Firearms and ammunition were seized from the detainees.

Jordanian authorities described the perpetrators as “extremist terrorists”. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

King Abdullah II ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist” to the attack targeting the country’s Christian minority, an exceptionally rare incident in Jordan.

Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable country in the Middle East, although authorities say they have foiled several plots orchestrated by Islamist militants in recent years.