Jordan strikes Syria after church attack, seven killed
Amman says it targeted armed groups in coordination with Damascus. Syria denies this, shuts the Nassib crossing and reports children among the dead.
Symbolic image · Photo: Petar Milošević / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Jordan's armed forces carried out strikes in southern Syria on Monday evening in what they called "retaliation" for the attack on an Orthodox church in Karak province. The military said it hit hideouts of armed groups and acted "in coordination with the Syrian government."
Syrian Civil Defence reported seven people killed in Daraa and Suwayda provinces, including three children. Five members of one family died when a tent was hit. Damascus denied any coordination, called the strikes a "treacherous attack," opened an investigation and closed the Nassib crossing, the only passenger and cargo crossing between the two countries.
Earlier on Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects after a shootout lasting about three hours. At least nine people were killed in Friday's attack on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak. King Abdullah II vowed the "harshest penalties" for those responsible.