Jordan launches air strikes in Syria in response to a fatal church shooting

Syria denies prior coordination with Jordan after deadly air strikes hit two provinces, killing at least seven people.

Jordan has carried out air attacks in Syria against what it described as hideouts for armed groups, killing at least seven people, including a woman and children, according to initial reports.

On Monday, the country’s armed forces described the attacks as a response to an incident that saw gunmen open fire on a church last week, leaving nine dead and dozens wounded in Jordan’s Karak governorate.

The Jordanian operation reportedly targeted “terrorist organisations in southeastern Syria” linked to the church’s attackers.

Monday’s strikes “resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles”, according to the Jordanian military. It did not specify which groups were attacked, nor the precise location of the strikes.

Jordan has said that Monday’s efforts were launched in coordination with the Syrian government.

But Syria has denied coordinating with the Jordanian military. The country’s defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram that one Jordanian attack hit five members of the same family, including three children, a woman and a man.

Two other strikes reportedly killed one 60-year-old man and another who was 80 years old. The Jordanian strikes hit the southern Syrian provinces of Deraa and Suwayda.

The Syrian government has launched an investigation into the Jordanian attacks. In a statement, it stressed the importance of “joint field and security coordination” in border areas.

Following the Jordanian strikes, the Syrian border authority announced the closure of ⁠the Nassib border crossing with Jordan, suspending traffic in both directions.

The Nassib crossing ‌is Jordan’s only passenger and commercial border crossing ‌with ‌Syria.

Earlier on Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law in the village of Al-Jadeeda, after a shootout with authorities. The three men are suspects in the October 23 church attack.

A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera that the suspects sustained serious injuries during the confrontation, which lasted for about three hours.

Monday’s arrests and air strikes in Syria come after Jordan’s King Abdullah II pledged a stern response to the church attack.

The attack saw three men allegedly open fire on a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral about 90km (56 miles) south of the capital, Amman.

Karak is home to a minority Christian population, which makes up about 300,000 of Jordan’s 11.5 million people.

King Abdullah said those behind the attack would face the “harshest penalties” and ordered a review of the country’s security procedures in the aftermath.