Syria and Jordan vow to maintain good relations following deadly strikes over church attack

Syria and Jordan said on Tuesday they were determined to maintain good relations following deadly strikes by the Jordanian military against its neighbour in retaliation for a gun attack on a church. The strikes triggered the most serious crisis between the two countries since longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024. However, Jordan said earlier on Tuesday that it had 'great respect for its neighbour and expressed regret over civilian casualties. Syria condemned Jordan's strikes in the south as an unacceptable violation, while Jordan said its raid killed more than 20 jihadist fighters.

Last week, gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan's southern Karak governorate, killing nine people and injuring 25 others. Jordan maintained that it had coordinated its airstrikes with Syria, but Damascus denied the claim. Syria's civil defence agency said the strikes killed seven people, including three children. Later on Tuesday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke with his Syrian counterpart, Assaad al-Shaibani, according to a joint statement published by Syria's foreign ministry.

The statement said Safadi stressed 'Jordan's full respect for Syria's sovereignty... and security', while also expressing ‘sorrow and grief over the death of innocent civilian victims’. The two officials also discussed the strikes against what the statement described as ‘Daesh sites’, using an acronym for the Islamic State (IS) group. Earlier, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said that the preliminary results... indicate significant losses among Daesh's ranks, estimated at more than 20 fighters. He added that a large weapons depot belonging to the organisation had been destroyed.

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Syria condemns strikes as a 'blatant violation'

Earlier, Syria's foreign ministry issued a condemnation and rejection of the strikes, describing them as an unacceptable violation and breach of Syrian airspace without any prior coordination. The ministry also said the raid was a blatant violation of the principles of good-neighbourliness and Syrian national sovereignty. Amman appeared eager to ease tensions, with Momani saying that Jordan holds great respect for the Syrian state and its brotherly people.

A joint Syrian-Jordanian security committee is expected to meet in the coming days to discuss operations against IS, a government source told Syrian state news agency SANA. Syria said five people, including a woman and three children, were killed in the village of Al-Taf in Daraa province, which borders Jordan. Two other people were reportedly killed elsewhere in the south.

Following the strikes, Syria closed its main Nassib border crossing with Jordan, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side. The closure suspended passenger and commercial traffic in both directions, citing the current circumstances. However, Syrian Emergencies and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh said later on Tuesday that both sides were addressing the dispute through diplomatic and legal channels with the aim of securing justice for the victims.