Five Syrians killed in Jordanian strikes at border with Syria in fight against drug smuggling

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that five Syrians, including a woman and two children, were killed in airstrikes carried out by the Jordanian army near the Jordanian-Syrian border on sites used for drug smuggling operations into the kingdom.

The observatory, based in the UK, stated, "Four people, including a woman and two children, were killed in airstrikes conducted by the Jordanian military aircraft yesterday evening. 
 
The airstrikes targeted a farm in the town of Dibin in the southern Suwayda countryside, near the Syrian-Jordanian border, leading to the complete destruction of the farm and the death of a large number of livestock."

The observatory, which relies on a broad network of sources in Syria, explained that "the Jordanian military aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes targeting areas from which drug traffickers, affiliated with Hezbollah and Syrian security forces, operate."

It noted the killing of a fifth person, stating, "One of the strikes in the area of Salkhad in the Suwayda countryside resulted in the death of drug trafficker Nasser Faisal Al-Saadi, close to Hezbollah and Syrian regime security forces." 

Meanwhile, the Jordanian army announced the killing, injuring, and arresting of several Syrian drug smugglers during clashes at the Jordanian-Syrian border.

A responsible military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces affirmed in a statement that this occurred "during the ongoing clashes between the Jordanian Border Guard forces and armed groups on the northern border (with Syria) since Monday dawn."

 

AFP