Five Dead in Syrian Village After Jordanian Jets Strike

Five people, including women, children, and an elderly man, died in a Jordanian airstrike on a village in Syria's southern Daraa province on Monday.

The attack followed a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church funeral in Karak on Friday. That incident killed nine people and injured 34 others. Jordanian military officials stated that their fighter jets struck targets they identified as terrorist organizations. The goal was to kill and wound several terrorists involved in the previous week's violence.

The sequence of events escalated quickly over the final week. On Friday, the funeral shooting occurred in Karak. Early Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested three men in connection with the attack. The Public Security Directorate reported that the men were found hiding in an abandoned house before dawn. Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told state-affiliated television that all three attackers were Jordanians. He said they had been hiding in a building in a village near the church.

Later on Monday, Jordanian jets launched the cross-border strike. Syrian health officials reported the five deaths in the targeted village. Jordan said it had coordinated the operation with the Syrian government. Syrian authorities disputed this account. They stated that they had not been notified of the attack before it happened. In response to the strike, Syrian officials closed the Nassib border crossing, the only passenger and commercial link between the two countries. A statement from Syrian authorities said the closure included a complete suspension of traffic in both directions to ensure safety. Officials added that they had opened direct communication channels with Jordan and launched comprehensive investigations to determine the full circumstances of the targeting.