Jordanian strikes in Syria said to kill 20 ISIS terrorists after church attack; Damascus outraged over civilian deaths

The Jordanian air force carried out strikes on several targets in southern Syria’s Daraa province on Monday, following the arrest of three suspects who murdered nine Christians at a funeral service at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, in southern Jordan’s Karak province on Friday.

The suspects of the attack in Hamoud had ties to ISIS, Jordan said, though there has been no claim of responsibility.

However, Syrian authorities said the strikes killed at least seven people, including three children and a woman, triggering strong condemnations from Damascus.

Jordan stated Tuesday that the strikes killed more than 20 terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS) and destroyed a major weapons depot. The strikes came after Jordan’s patience with terrorist movements “was exhausted” and were meant to “neutralize imminent terrorist threats.”

However, government spokesman Minister ​Mohammed al-Momani also acknowledged civilian casualties, stressing that Jordan regretted them. The strikes avoided civilian-populated sites and the armed forces have strict protocols to prevent civilian harm, Momani emphasized.

He further noted that ISIS threatens both Jordan and Syria, noting the “deep respect” for Syria and its people and vowed that the long-standing cooperation with Damascus to target terrorism, arms and drug smuggling over the shared border would continue.

Jordan at first had claimed that the strikes had been coordinated with Damascus beforehand.

However, the Damascus government denied this, claiming they had been carried out “without prior coordination or notification from the Syrian side.” The Foreign Ministry later added its “condemnation and rejection, in the strongest terms,” of the Jordanian strikes, which it called “an unacceptable violation and breach of Syrian airspace without any prior coordination.”

The government sent its “heartfelt condolences to the martyrs’ families,” vowing to investigate the strikes, and to provide “immediate required support and humanitarian relief” to the victims.

Following the strikes, Syria ordered the closure of its Nassib border crossing with Jordan and halted passenger and commercial traffic from both sides. The border area has been a hotbed of drugs and arms smuggling for years, causing Jordan to carry out repeated strikes against smugglers and terrorists.

Tense relations between Damascus and Amman had thawed after current President Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted the Assad regime in late 2024, with both sides cooperating to increase border security.

Just last Thursday, Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, visited King Abdullah II of Jordan in Aqaba. At the meeting, King Abdullah condemned Israeli strikes on Syrian territory and reaffirmed his country’s support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They discussed the development of relations between the two countries and coordination on regional developments, including in southern Syria, according to Syrian state media.

After the terror attack, the king had vowed those responsible would face the “harshest penalties”.

Shortly before Monday’s airstrikes, authorities said Jordanian security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout in the village of al-Judayyda, in Karak governorate. Footage showed a building pockmarked with bullet holes.

A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera that the suspects sustained serious injuries during the over three-hour-long shootout.

Jordanian authorities didn’t immediately comment on the motivation and ideology of the attackers on the church in Hamoud on Friday. However, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said hours later that it was “the result of terrorist takfiri ideology,” a term describing Islamist extremists who declare other Muslims as heretics and usually denotes al-Qaeda or ISIS-style terror groups.

“God willing, they only represent themselves,” said Director of Public Security, Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah.

“The file has not yet been closed; investigations are still ongoing. As of today, there are no indications of any links between them and other cells,” Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya added.

Jordan's Christian population makes up about 300,000 of Jordan’s 11.5 million citizens.