Jordanian armed forces launched a series of air strikes targeting southeastern Syria on Monday, following a deadly church shooting that left nine people dead in Jordan late last week. Syrian authorities reported that the retaliatory raids killed at least seven people, including three children and a woman, prompting the immediate closure of the primary border crossing between the two nations.
The military operation by Jordan followed a Friday attack at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, located approximately 56 miles south of the capital, Amman. Three gunmen had opened fire on mourners attending a funeral inside the church, resulting in nine fatalities and dozens of injuries. In the wake of the shooting, Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed a stern response, pledged the harshest penalties for those responsible, and ordered a comprehensive review of national security procedures. Karak is situated within a region home to a minority Christian population, which accounts for roughly 300,000 of Jordan’s total population of 11.5 million.
Jordanian military officials stated that Monday’s air strikes targeted what they described as hideouts belonging to armed groups in southeastern Syria. The military asserted that the raids successfully destroyed several vehicles and killed or wounded numerous members of these groups, adding in its official statement that the operation was carried out in coordination with the Syrian government.
However, Damascus strongly disputed that claim. In a formal statement, the Syrian government denied any prior communication or coordination regarding the military operation and announced that it had launched an official investigation into the strikes.
According to Syria’s civil defense service, the Monday evening operations struck at least four distinct sites across rural Deraa and Suweyda provinces. Rescue crews recovered the bodies of seven individuals: three men, a woman, and three children.
Among the casualties, five members of a single family—comprising a man, a woman, and three children—were killed when a strike hit a tent in the village of Al Tai within Deraa Province. Three additional family members, including a child, sustained injuries in the same blast. A second air strike hit the village of Al Shayyah in Deraa, resulting in the death of an 80-year-old man. A third strike targeted a residential building in Muzayrib in Deraa’s Ain al-Basal area, though no casualties were reported from that location. A fourth strike hit a residential building in the town of Shahba in Suweyda province, killing a 60-year-old man.
In response to the air raids, Syria’s border authority closed the Nassib crossing, cutting off all passenger and commercial traffic in both directions. The Nassib crossing serves as the sole operational passage for travelers and goods between Jordan and Syria.
Earlier on Monday, prior to the cross-border strikes, Jordanian security forces carried out arrests in connection with the Karak church massacre. Authorities detained two brothers and their brother-in-law in the village of Al-Jadeeda following a shootout. A Jordanian government source indicated that the suspects sustained serious injuries during the armed confrontation, which lasted for approximately three hours.
