Jordanian Fighter Jets Kill Five in Syria After Karak Church Funerals

Jordanian fighter jets killed five people in a village in Syria's southern Daraa province on Monday. The strike followed a shooting at a Christian funeral in the Jordanian city of Karak on Friday that left nine people dead and 34 others injured.

Syrian health officials told state media that the victims in Syria included women, children, and an elderly man. The Jordanian military stated that its jets targeted "terrorist organisations" and killed or wounded "several terrorists." Jordan said it co-ordinated the operation with the Syrian government, but Syrian officials said they were not notified before the attack began.

In response to the cross-border strike, Syrian authorities closed the Nassib border crossing. They suspended all passenger and commercial traffic in both directions to ensure safety. Nassib is the only passenger and commercial crossing point between the two countries. Syrian officials said they opened direct communication channels with Jordan and launched investigations into the targeting.

Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects earlier on Monday. The Public Security Directorate identified the men as two brothers and their brother-in-law. Officials found the group hiding in an abandoned house in Karak before dawn. The three men were all Jordanian nationals.

Mazen al-Faraya, Jordan's Interior Minister, told state-affiliated television that the attackers had been holed up in a building in a village near the site of the funeral. He described the suspects as terrorists responsible for the violence that began the diplomatic and military escalation between the neighbors.