Jordan strikes Syria after church attack: what we know
Jordan’s air force carried out retaliatory strikes on what it called ‘dens of terrorist organizations’ in southeastern Syria. The operation, announced by the Jordanian Armed Forces, destroyed several sites and killed or wounded many elements, along with their vehicles. Amman said it was conducted in coordination with Damascus, but Syria immediately contradicted that account.
Conflicting accounts and civilian casualties
Syria’s Foreign Ministry informed Jordan of its ‘complete reservation’ over the attacks, saying they took place ‘without prior coordination or notification’. A ministry official described the strikes to Al Jazeera as a ‘treacherous attack’. Syrian authorities reported seven killed, including three children, in the Deraa and Suwayda countryside. The civil defence agency said five members of one family—three children and a woman—died when a tent was hit in al-Taff village in Lajat. An 80-year-old man, Riyad Karrad, was killed at a farm near Nassib, and a 60-year-old, Mutlaq Abu al-Khail, in Shuhayb. Jordan hasn’t commented on the civilian casualty claims. Syria closed the Nassib border crossing, the only passenger and commercial route between the two neighbours.
Church attack and security crackdown
The strikes were a response to an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate that killed nine people during a funeral. ISIL claimed responsibility for the October 23 incident. Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout. King Abdullah II ordered an ‘iron fist’ response. Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh said the investigation is ongoing and there are ‘no indications of any links between them and other cells’. Jordan has launched multiple air attacks on Syria since 2023, targeting drug and arms smugglers. Human Rights Watch has demanded accountability for strikes that killed civilians in January 2024. Damascus said it will address the aftermath while safeguarding Syria’s security and sovereignty.
