Jordan launched airstrikes against suspected Islamic State positions in southern Syria on Tuesday, days after gunmen killed at least seven people and wounded 34 during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan.
The Syrian government said at least eight people were killed in the Jordanian strikes, “including an elderly man and three children.” Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani countered that the strikes killed at least 20 ISIS fighters he described as “sure threats” to Jordan’s security.
“Jordan’s patience has run out as far as the movements of these terrorist organisations and their targeting of national security,” al-Momani said. He said Jordan regretted any civilian deaths, and claimed the operation was coordinated with Syrian authorities, though he gave no specifics.
Damascus disputed that claim. Syrian officials denied any coordination and said they have filed a formal complaint with Jordan, with a full investigation to follow. Syria’s General Authority for Ports and Customs later closed the main Jordan-Syria border crossing until further notice.
The Jordanian military said the strikes were “conducted in retaliation for the martyrs of last Friday’s Hamoud church attack in Karak,” and said the Syrian hideouts it bombed belonged to terrorists connected to the men who carried out the church assault.
The Karak Attack
Gunmen opened fire Friday on mourners gathered for a funeral at the church, killing at least seven people. King Abdullah II called it the deadliest attack on Jordan’s Christian community in more than 50 years and vowed the “harshest retaliation.”
Jordanian troops arrested three suspects on Monday, all reportedly Jordanian citizens from the same family. The men barricaded themselves inside an empty house and “resisted fiercely,” sustaining “heavy wounds” in a three-hour gun battle with security forces.
Jordanian officials initially said they had no evidence linking the three suspects to any outside terrorist network. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said Friday the attack was “the result of terrorist takfiri ideology.” By Monday, however, the military was tying the Syrian strike targets to the church attackers.
Syria’s Response
Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrikes Tuesday afternoon as “utterly unacceptable” and a “violation of Syrian sovereignty.” The ministry also condemned the church attack itself, while suggesting outside actors were seeking to “create discord” between the two neighboring states.
