Jordan acknowledged civilian casualties from its Oct. 26 airstrikes in southern Syria, while Damascus said it had received no advance notice, deepening a dispute over cross-border security operations.
Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication and Official Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said the military used intelligence to avoid places where civilians were thought to be. Jordan News Agency Petra reported that he said Jordan “regrets unintended casualties” and expressed “deep respect for the Syrian state and its people.”
The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said the operation was coordinated with the Syrian government and targeted what it called terrorist hideouts in southern Syria. It described the strikes as retaliation for an Oct. 23 attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, that killed nine people. The military’s first statement did not name a group or give a militant death toll.
Petra later reported Momani’s initial estimate that more than 20 Daesh (Islamic State) operatives were killed and a major weapons depot was destroyed. Jordan also said security coordination with Syria had continued for years, covering terrorism, weapons trafficking and drug smuggling.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said Jordan had not coordinated the operation in advance and condemned the strikes as a violation of Syrian airspace, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The ministry said authorities had opened an investigation and were in contact with Jordan. The governments’ accounts conflict over whether coordination took place before the operation.
The Associated Press reported that Syria Civil Defense counted seven civilian deaths across Daraa and Sweida. An earlier SANA report cited Daraa Health Director Khaled al-Amyan as saying five civilians had died in Daraa. Petra’s account of Momani’s remarks did not give a civilian death toll.
Petra said Jordan and Syria planned to form a joint committee to examine the operation and discuss stronger counterterrorism cooperation. It did not say when officials would convene the panel.
