Jordan said its air force carried out retaliatory attacks against what it called “hiddens of terrorist organizations in southern Syria” linked to suspects accused of being behind last week’s attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the kingdom.
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“The operation resulted in the death and injury of many elements of the terrorist organizations and the destruction of a number of their vehicles,” added the Jordanian armed forces.
“The armed forces said the operation was carried out in coordination with Damascus.” The Jordanian army said in another article on X.
ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the October 23 church attack.
Jordan did not specify the locations of the attacks or provide casualty figures.
What does Syria say?
Syria has contradicted the Jordanian version of the night attacks.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Jordan of its “total reservations” regarding the attacks, which took place “without coordination or prior notification with the Syrian side”.
A Foreign Ministry official told Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett that the strikes amounted to a “treacherous attack.”
Pett reported from Syria that authorities said seven people were killed, including three children, in Jordanian air attacks on rural Daraa and Suwayda.
Syria’s Ministry of Emergencies and Disaster Management said its teams responded to attacks at four sites.
Syria’s civil defense agency said it had found the bodies of those killed in the attacks. Among them are five members of the same family, including three children and a woman, who were killed together in a strike on a tent in the village of al-Taff, in the Lajat region of the northeastern Daraa province. Three other family members were injured, according to the statement.
In al-Shayah Farms near Nassib in rural Daraa, a farm strike killed 80-year-old Riyad Karrad. His body was taken to Daraa National Hospital.
In Muzayrib, in the Ein al-Basal region, in the western countryside of Daraa, a strike hit a house. No casualties have been reported.
In the town of Shuhayb in the northern Suwayda countryside, a strike on a house killed Mutlaq Abu al-Khail, 60. Rescue teams were still recovering his body from the rubble when the report was released.
There was no immediate comment from Jordan on Syria’s accusations that civilians – not armed fighters – were killed.
Shortly after the attacks, Syrian customs authorities closed the Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Tuesday, the only route for passenger and trade between the neighbors.
Why did Jordan attack Syrian sites?
Jordan said its attacks on Syrian territory were a response to an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate.
On Monday, senior government security officials said Jordanian security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout following violence that killed nine people in a rare attack on Jordan’s minority Christian community on Friday.
Major General Obaidullah al-Maaytah, Jordan’s director of public security, named the three arrested suspects as Hazza Zaidan Mohammed, Meshal Zaidan Mohammed and Ahmad Sami Hussein.
The attack at a funeral prompted Jordan’s King Abdullah II to order security forces to respond with an “iron fist.”
Jordanian Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh said he was opening an investigation “examining all the circumstances that push young people towards extremism.”
“The case is not yet closed; investigations are still ongoing. To date, there is no indication of any connection between them and other cells,” al-Farrayeh added.
Has Jordan already struck Syrian territory in the past?
Jordan has carried out several air attacks against Syria since 2023, saying it was targeting drug and arms traffickers.
The operations sometimes affected civilians.
Human Rights Watch demanded accountability after Jordan launched attacks that killed women and children in January 2024.
“Cross-border airstrikes that kill civilians require scrutiny, regardless of the threat posed by drug trafficking from southern Syria,” Human Rights Watch said.
Jordan’s armed forces said their operations along their border targeted armed groups transporting narcotics, weapons and explosives that they suspected of being linked to groups allied to Iran.
How will Syria react to the latest Jordanian attack?
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said it was in contact with Jordan to establish the circumstances of the operation.
Damascus said it would address the consequences of the attacks while “preserving Syria’s security and sovereignty.”
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