Jordan Strikes Militants in Syria After Church Attack as Damascus Disputes Its Account

Jordan carried out airstrikes on armed groups in Syria on Monday in retaliation for Friday's shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Karak that killed nine people, the Jordanian military said. Syria responded by closing its only passenger and commercial border crossing with Jordan, according to The Guardian and Al Jazeera.

The two governments gave sharply different accounts of the strikes. Jordan said it acted in coordination with Damascus, while Syria said it was neither consulted nor notified.

What Jordan says it hit

Jordan's armed forces said the strikes hit “hideouts” of armed groups in southeastern Syria and killed and wounded many members of what it called terrorist groups, while destroying a number of their vehicles. The statement did not identify the groups or the precise location, The Guardian reported.

The BBC reported that Jordan said its fighter jets killed and wounded several militants but gave no further details.

What Syria says happened

Syria's government said the operation was carried out without prior coordination or notification and that it had opened an investigation. It also said it had opened direct channels of communication with Jordanian officials, according to the BBC.

Reports differ on the death toll. Syrian state media, citing a health official in Daraa province, said at least five civilians were killed, including women, children and a 65-year-old man, The Guardian reported. Al Jazeera, citing Syria's Civil Defence service, said at least seven people died: three men, a woman and three children. The service said at least four sites in Daraa and Suweyda provinces were hit.

Civil Defence said five of the dead, a man, a woman and three children, belonged to one family killed when a strike hit a tent in the village of Al-Tai. Three other relatives, including a child, were wounded. A Syrian Foreign Ministry official called the strikes a “treacherous attack,” Al Jazeera reported.

The church attack and the arrests

Three gunmen opened fire on mourners at a funeral at the church in Karak, about 55 miles (90km) south of the capital, Amman. Nine people were killed and 34 were wounded, according to the BBC. Jordan declared three days of mourning. No group has claimed responsibility, and the motive remains unknown.

On Monday, before the airstrikes, Jordanian authorities arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a dawn shootout. All three are Jordanian and were wounded, officials said. A government source told Al Jazeera the confrontation lasted about three hours, and the BBC reported the men were found hiding in an abandoned house.

The head of Jordan's Public Security Directorate described the men as extremists linked to no organized group. “They only represent themselves,” he told a news conference, adding that a large cache of munitions was found at the house. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said the attack came from an extremist way of thinking and warned that similar incidents could recur if it is not addressed.

King Abdullah II ordered authorities to respond with “an iron fist,” and Al Jazeera said he also ordered a review of the country's security procedures. Relatives of the victims told the Jordanian station Al-Mamlaka that the arrests brought some relief, though one said the pain would last for years.

What this means for travelers and trade

Syria said the closure of the Nassib crossing suspends passenger and commercial traffic in both directions to ensure the safety of travelers and workers. Nassib is the only crossing for passengers and commercial goods between the two countries, so anyone and any cargo moving by land between Jordan and Syria is affected. Syria has not said how long the closure will last.

The dispute over coordination adds a diplomatic strain. Syria's government stressed the importance of field and security coordination in border areas, while a Foreign Ministry official told Al Jazeera that Damascus would try to manage the fallout in a way that protects Syrian sovereignty.

What to watch next

Syria's investigation into the strikes is under way, and the two governments have yet to reconcile their accounts of whether Damascus was told in advance. The case against the three suspects also continues in Jordan, where Christians make up about 300,000 of the country's 11.5 million people, according to Al Jazeera.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian, Al Jazeera, BBC News