Jordan Says Syria Strikes Targeted ISIS, Killed 20 Militants
Jordan’s first specific identification of ISIS as the strike target comes 24 hours after the operation and a day after its own interior minister said the church attackers had no foreign links, as Damascus reported civilian casualties and the Nassib crossing remains closed
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Jordan’s Minister of Communications announced Tuesday that the Jordanian airstrikes on southern Syria the previous day specifically targeted ISIS, killed 20 militants, avoided any site where intelligence indicated civilian presence, and that Jordan will form a joint committee with Syria, as the Jordanian government pledged to develop bilateral relations and expand counter-terrorism coordination with Damascus.
The attacks on southern Syria targeted the ISIS organization. The strikes killed 20 militants. We did not target sites where intelligence information indicated the presence of civilians. We will form a joint committee with Syria following the strikes,
the minister said.
The Jordanian government added that ISIS represents a common threat to both Jordan and Syria, that continuous counter-terrorism coordination between the two countries has existed for years covering terrorism, weapons smuggling, and drug trafficking, and that Jordan coordinates with international parties to protect Syrian territorial integrity especially in the south. Jordan pledged to expand the scope of counter-terrorism coordination with Syria going forward.
Tuesday’s identification of ISIS as the specific target is the first official naming of the organization, coming nearly 24 hours after the strikes. The original Jordanian military statement had referenced terrorist organization hideouts in southern Syria without naming ISIS or publishing detailed evidence linking the church attackers to those groups.
This sits alongside a statement made by Jordan’s own Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya on Monday confirming that the three church attackers are all Jordanian nationals from one family, two brothers and their brother-in-law, with no indication of any external communications or cooperation with external parties. Jordan has not publicly reconciled its interior minister’s finding with the military’s justification for striking Syrian territory.
The crisis erupted four days after Syria and Jordan declared a strategic partnership on Thursday, when Syrian FM al-Shaibani visited Amman and both governments pledged mutual respect for Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, agreeing to hold the third Supreme Coordination Council session in Damascus on November 8-9. On Friday, three Jordanian gunmen attacked a church in the Karak Governorate killing nine people and wounding 25. Jordan arrested all three on October 26 and launched airstrikes the same day.
Syria denied any prior coordination for the strikes, reported five civilian casualties including women and children in Daraa, and closed the Nassib border crossing, one of the most important commercial arteries between the two countries, citing field developments. Syria’s Foreign Ministry expressed complete reservation about military operations on its territory without prior coordination.
Jordan’s offer Tuesday of a joint committee with Syria and its pledge to expand coordination represent the first steps toward de-escalation, but the Nassib crossing remains closed and the November 8-9 coordination council session is now under question.