Jordan Strikes Southern Syria After Deadly Attack on Greek Orthodox Church
by Stella Mazonakis · Greek City TimesJordan has carried out airstrikes in southern Syria in retaliation for last Friday’s attack on St George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Karak, which killed nine people. Amman says the strikes killed Islamic State militants. Damascus says the dead were civilians, among them three children.
The Royal Jordanian Air Force hit targets on Monday evening, 26 October. The Jordanian Armed Forces said in a post on X that fighter jets had destroyed “a number of terrorist sites in southeastern Syria”. It said the operation “resulted in the killing and wounding of many elements of the terrorist organizations and the destruction of a number of their vehicles”. The military also said it had acted in coordination with Damascus, according to Al Jazeera.
Amman says 20 militants killed
On Tuesday, Jordanian Government Communication Minister Mohammad al-Momani said the strikes killed about 20 Islamic State fighters. He also acknowledged that civilians had died. According to France 24, al-Momani said the operation was based on intelligence about “confirmed threats and planned terrorist acts against Jordan”, and he expressed regret over the civilian casualties.
Read more: Jordan Tightens Security After Deadly Attack on Greek Orthodox Church
He also sought to protect relations with Damascus. “Jordan holds great respect for the Syrian state and its brotherly people,” he said, adding that cooperation between the two countries against terrorism and weapons and drug smuggling was ongoing.
Damascus says children among the dead
Syria’s civil defence service said four sites in rural Daraa and Suwayda provinces were hit. Its crews recovered seven bodies.
Five of the dead were from one family: a man, a woman and three children. They were killed when a strike hit a tent in the village of al-Taff, in the Lajat area of Daraa province. Three other family members, including a child, were wounded. An 80-year-old man was killed on a farm near Nassib, and a 60-year-old man died when a home was hit in northern Suwayda. A fourth strike hit a house in Muzayrib, with no casualties reported.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as “an unacceptable violation and breach of Syrian airspace without any prior coordination”. It called them “a blatant violation of the principles of good-neighbourliness and Syrian national sovereignty”.
Syria also closed the Nassib crossing, the only passenger and commercial border crossing between the two countries, the BBC reported.
The attack on St George’s
The strikes followed the shooting on Friday, 23 October. Three gunmen opened fire on mourners at a funeral at St George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hmoud, in Karak governorate, about 90 kilometres south of Amman. Nine people were killed and dozens were wounded.
On Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout at an abandoned house in Karak governorate. All three were wounded. Jordan’s interior minister said the attackers were all Jordanians. Al Jazeera reported that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the church attack.
Orthodox community mourns
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the Orthodox Church in Jordan, condemned what it called a “vile, cowardly, and bloody act”. In its statement of 23 October, it said Christians would not be driven from the land.
“If the intent behind this message is to uproot us from our Holy Land and displace us, it will only serve to strengthen our attachment to it and deepen our roots within it.”
On Sunday, 25 October, Patriarch Theophilos III led the funeral of eight of the victims at St George’s, which was attended by thousands of people. He later visited the wounded at the Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein Military Hospital and the Italian Hospital.
The BBC named the eight as Dr Maher Zureiqat, Ihab al-Halsa, Dr Fadi al-Halsa, Dr Khaled al-Halsa, Dr Asim al-Burqan, Alaa al-Masarwa, Marwan Khaitan and Mazen al-Qassous. The ninth victim, Dr Mohammad al-Qassous, was buried near Amman on Monday after a funeral service led by the Patriarch, Orthodox Times reported.
Christians make up about 300,000 of Jordan’s 11.5 million people.
Read more: Jordan Church Attack: Jerusalem Patriarchate Vows Christians Will Stay and Jordan Arrests Suspects Over Deadly Attack on Greek Orthodox Church.
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