Jordan’s armed forces said Monday that fighter jets had struck terrorist hideouts in southern Syria in retaliation for Friday’s shooting at a Greek Orthodox church funeral in Karak, which killed nine people and wounded at least 34. Syria said it had not been notified of the strikes, reported civilian deaths and closed the Nassib border crossing.
The Jordanian military said the operation, code-named “Jordanian Deterrence – Hammoud,” was coordinated with Damascus. It said the jets destroyed several terrorist facilities, killed and wounded a number of members of the groups involved and destroyed their equipment. It did not name the groups or give exact locations, but said the targeted hideouts belonged to organizations connected to the men behind the church shooting.
Syria gave a different account. The director of health in Daraa province, where the strikes landed, told the state news agency SANA that at least five civilians were killed, among them women, children and an elderly man. Later reports put the toll higher, with Syrian authorities saying at least seven people were killed, including three children and a woman.
The Syrian government said the strikes were carried out without prior coordination or notification from the Syrian side. It expressed solidarity with the affected families and said it had opened investigations into the circumstances of the targeting.
Syrian authorities said the Nassib closure suspends all passenger and commercial traffic in both directions “to ensure the safety of travellers and workers at the crossing,” and that direct communication channels with Jordanian officials had been opened. Nassib, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, is the only passenger and commercial crossing between the two countries.
The strikes came hours after Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects in Karak. The Public Security Directorate identified them as Hazza Zaidan Mohammed, his brother Meshal Zaidan Mohammed, and their brother-in-law Ahmad Sami Hussein, all Jordanian. Security forces found the men before dawn hiding in an abandoned house and, after the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire, wounded and arrested all three. One of the suspects was in critical condition, Jordan’s state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka reported. No security personnel were hurt, and weapons and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered.
Jordan’s own account of the attackers’ ties was not entirely consistent. While the military linked them to groups in southern Syria, Public Security Director Maj. Gen. Maaytah told a press conference Monday that the men followed what he called “takfiri” ideology but had no ties to any organized group. “They only represent themselves,” he said. He described the attack as unplanned, saying the three had been trailing the funeral procession and decided on the spot to open fire on the mourners. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya also described the men as takfiri extremists.
King Abdullah II had vowed that those responsible would face the harshest penalties and ordered a review of the country’s security procedures.
The attack took place Friday, October 23, during a funeral at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Hammoud, a village in Karak governorate, home to a Christian minority. Witnesses said the gunmen fired for several minutes. Jordan declared three days of mourning, and no group has claimed responsibility.
