LONDON: Jordanian fighter jets struck what the military described as “terrorist hideouts” in southern Syria late on Monday, in retaliation for a deadly attack three days ago on a funeral at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate.
Nearly an hour after the strikes, Syria said five civilians, including women and children, were killed in the strikes. Syria’s government said the attacks were carried out without prior coordination with Damascus.
Daraa’s health director, Khaled Al-Amyan, told Syria’s state news agency, SANA, that the civilians were caught in strikes on several sites in the province’s countryside.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement that those responsible for the attack on Friday at Hamoud Church were linked to the groups in Syria targeted by the airstrikes. It described them as “terrorist organizations” but did not name them.
The Syrian government said authorities were investigating the circumstances, monitoring conditions on the ground and communicating with Jordan about the incident.
The government also called for joint military and security coordination in border areas to protect Syria’s sovereignty and both countries’ security and stability.
The strikes destroyed several structures and vehicles, and killed or wounded members of the groups, the Jordanian military said, providing no casualty figures or precise locations.
Shortly before the statement was issued, Syrian social media users and groups, including a Facebook page called “Daraa 24,” reported three airstrikes they believed to have been carried out by Jordanian warplanes in western Daraa province.
Reports also described continuing heavy warplane activity over the province, and two earlier explosions, including one attributed to an airstrike near the town of Nasib in eastern Daraa.