Jordan says its air force struck 'militant hideouts' in Syria after church attack
By ABDELHADI RAMAHI, YASMINE GHANIA, MUHAMMAD AL GEBALY, Reuters
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AL-JUDAYYDA, Jordan/CAIRO - Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects behind last week's deadly church attack in the kingdom were linked to "terrorist groups" operating there.
The armed forces said the operation was conducted in coordination with Damascus. Syria's government gave a contradictory account, saying it had launched an investigation into the Jordanian attacks, and stressed in a statement the importance of field and security coordination in border areas.
Damascus informed Jordan of its "complete reservation" over the strikes without prior coordination, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Seven people, including three children and a woman, were killed and three others were wounded in the Jordanian strikes, the Syrian Civil Defense said in a preliminary report. It said emergency teams responded to four sites hit by the strikes in the countryside of Daraa and Sweida provinces.
There was no immediate comment from Jordan on that account.
Shortly after the strikes, Syria closed the Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Tuesday, suspending passenger and commercial traffic in both directions, citing developments on the ground in Daraa province, the Syrian General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs said in a statement.
Nassib is Jordan's only passenger and commercial border crossing with Syria.
Earlier on Monday, senior government security officials said Jordanian security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout on Monday over the church violence that killed nine people.
"God willing, they only represent themselves," said Jordan's Director of Public Security, Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah.
Such violence is rare in Jordan, a relatively stable US ally in the Middle East. Friday's attack on the Christian minority prompted King Abdullah to order security forces to respond with an "iron fist".
In a press conference, al-Maaytah and Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said the country would not tolerate extremist terrorism.
"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," al-Faraya added.
Attack targeted Greek Orthodox funeral
Friday's assault during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, also wounded at least 34 people. Witnesses said gunmen opened fire for several minutes. The suspects, who lived near Hamoud, will face justice, said the security officials. The three suspects were named in the press briefing.
Reuters video footage showed a building pockmarked by the exchange of fire in the village of al-Judayyda, in Karak governorate.
Jordan's Public Security Directorate said in a statement carried by state media that security forces located the suspects while they were hiding in an abandoned house. They refused to surrender and attacked security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after wounding them.
No security personnel were injured, and security forces found a number of firearms and rounds of ammunition in the suspects' possession.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the church attack.
Jordan, a US partner in the fight against extremism, has foiled Islamist militant plots in the past. The security officials did not name any Islamist groups in the press conference. —Reuters
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