Jordan strikes southern Syria sites in response to Karak church attack

The Jordanian military conducted airstrikes on positions in southern Syria, announcing they targeted hideouts of armed groups linked to the Karak attack that killed nine people and wounded dozens last week, when three gunmen opened fire on a Greek Orthodox church during funeral services roughly ninety kilometers south of the capital, Amman.

The Jordanian Armed Forces announced the strikes resulted in "killing and wounding many elements of these terrorist groups and destroying a number of their vehicles," without specifying the identities of the targeted factions or precise locations. In contrast, Damascus denied any coordination with the Jordanian side, with Syria's defense ministry issuing a statement via Telegram confirming that one of the airstrikes killed five members of a single family, including three children, a woman, and a man, while two separate strikes resulted in the deaths of two other men, one in his sixties and the other in his eighties.

The strikes targeted Daraa and Suwayda provinces in southern Syria. Syria's Border Crossings Authority announced the closure of Nassib crossing, the sole entry point for travelers and goods between the two countries, and suspended movement in both directions.

On the Jordanian security front, security forces arrested three people suspected of involvement in the Karak attack—two brothers and their brother-in-law—in the village of Al-Jadeeda following an armed confrontation that lasted roughly three hours. A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera English that the suspects sustained serious injuries, in the context of arrests and strikes carried out in fulfillment of King Abdullah II's pledge of a firm response to the attack, declaring that those responsible would face "the harshest penalties" and ordering a review of the country's security procedures.

Syria announced it would open an investigation into the Jordanian airstrikes, emphasizing in its statement the importance of "joint field and security coordination" in border areas.