Eight people have been killed after gunmen opened fire at a funeral at a church in Jordan in a rare attack ⁠on the country’s Christian minority.

Authorities described the attack on Friday as a terrorist act by extremists.

Maj gen Abdallah al-Maaytah, the head of Jordan’s ⁠Public Security Directorate, said most of those injured in the shooting at St George’s Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, in Karak governorate, were receiving treatment, and that the ⁠hunt for the attackers was continuing. Jordan’s health minister said 40 people were injured.

The interior minister, Mazin Al Farrayeh, said the attack had been carried out by “extremists”, but it was too early to tell whether they had any links to known groups ⁠inside or outside Jordan.

Such attacks are rare in Jordan, which is relatively stable, though authorities in the US say in recent years they have repeatedly ​foiled attempted attacks by Islamist militants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The scene at St George’s Greek Orthodox church…