The Jordanian military said its air force had destroyed several militant positions and killed and wounded members of groups allegedly linked to the church attack.
Jordan on Monday said it carried out air strikes against “terrorist organisations” in southern Syria, saying the operation was in retaliation for a deadly attack on a church in Jordan last week.
Syrian authorities said eight civilians, including three children, were killed in the strikes.
The Jordanian military said its air force had destroyed several militant positions and killed and wounded members of groups allegedly linked to the church attack. The strikes came hours after Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects accused of carrying out the shooting.
Jordan Says Strikes Targeted Militant Groups
Jordan’s military said the operation targeted groups connected to the attack on the Greek Orthodox St George’s Church in southern Jordan on Friday, when gunmen killed nine people during a funeral service.
Jordan’s Director of Public Security, Major General Abdullah al-Maaytah, identified the three suspects as Hazza Zaidan Mohammed, Meshal Zaidan Mohammed and Ahmad Sami Hussein. Two of them are brothers, while the third is related to them by marriage.
The suspects were arrested after security forces surrounded an abandoned house where they had taken shelter and opened fire. All three were injured and taken to hospital, officials said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed that those responsible would face justice, saying security forces had “chased them to the very end”.
Syria Reports 8 Deaths, Objects To Strikes
The death toll from the Jordanian strikes in Syria’s Daraa province rose to eight, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA, which cited local health officials. The victims included an elderly man and three children. Four others were wounded.
Damascus said Jordan had carried out the operation without informing or consulting the Syrian government beforehand.
