Along a dusty border in southern Syria, a family's home was reduced to rubble in a single night, and the grief that followed now sits between two governments that had recently grown close. Jordan, answering a deadly attack on a funeral in its own land, struck at what it described as Islamic State targets, and then admitted that ordinary people had died beside them. Damascus counts the dead differently, calls the strikes a breach of its sky, and has opened an inquiry, while both capitals speak of tighter cooperation. What the wider region will make of this rests on whether that promised coopera
Jordan Expresses Regret for Civilian Deaths in Syria Airstrikes Against IS Militants
Seven civilians, including three children and a woman, were reportedly killed in strikes that destroyed homes, including the home of a resident who lost his wife, son and three grandchildren.
I couldn't find anyone.
Mark
Jordan says it regrets the civilian deaths. Is that an admission of what Syria is claiming?
Mimi
Partly. Jordan acknowledges civilians died, but it hasn't given a number. Syria says seven, including three children and a woman.
Luke
And that figure is Syria's. The reporting doesn't independently confirm it. The same goes for Jordan's claim of more than 20 IS fighters killed.
Mark
Why does the coordination question matter so much?
Mimi
Jordan says it acted in coordination with Damascus. Syria says there was none. That decides whether this was a joint operation or a breach of sovereignty.
Luke
Right now it's two flat contradictions. Nothing in the reporting settles which is accurate.
Mark
What about Masoud al-Salim?
Mimi
He says he lost his wife, son and three grandchildren in Al-Tuff. The AP saw him searching the rubble for schoolbooks and toys.
Luke
His account is firsthand, but it's one account. It isn't clear from the report whether it's included in the seven Syria counts.
Mark
And the church attack?
Mimi
Nobody has claimed it. Three men were arrested after a shootout, but the report doesn't link them to the funeral attack.
Luke
So the stated motive for the strikes, retaliation against IS, rests on Jordan's own intelligence, which we can't see.
Il Polso
- Jordanian airstrikes in Daraa and Sweida left homes flattened and families searching rubble for survivors.
- Syria says seven civilians, including three children and a woman, died, while Jordan claims over twenty Islamic State fighters were killed.
- Damascus calls the strikes an airspace violation and insists there was no prior coordination, contradicting Amman's account.
- Syria has launched an investigation and both governments pledge stronger security coordination, but the trust between them is now being tested.
Along a dusty border in southern Syria, a family's home was reduced to rubble in a single night, and the grief that followed now sits between two governments that had recently grown close. Jordan, answering a deadly attack on a funeral in its own land, struck at what it described as Islamic State targets, and then admitted that ordinary people had died beside them. Damascus counts the dead differently, calls the strikes a breach of its sky, and has opened an inquiry, while both capitals speak of tighter cooperation. What the wider region will make of this rests on whether that promised cooperation can survive a disagreement over who was hit and who was even asked.
On Monday night, Jordanian warplanes struck several sites across southern Syria, in the provinces of Daraa and Sweida. In the border village of Al-Tuff, Masoud al-Salim came back to find his house gone. He began digging through the rubble, pulling out children's schoolbooks and toys, hoping his family might be buried beneath. He says he lost his wife, his son and three grandchildren.
Amman framed the operation as retaliation for an attack the week before on a Greek Orthodox funeral in Jordan, which killed nine people. Jordan's Communications Minister Mohammed al-Momani said the air force hit Islamic State-linked groups, killing more than twenty fighters and destroying a large weapons depot. On Tuesday he acknowledged civilian deaths and expressed regret, insisting Jordan takes precautions and avoids sites where civilians are believed to be.
Syrian authorities gave a starkly different toll: seven civilians dead, including three children and a woman, and two elderly men among the victims. Damascus disputed the claimed IS losses, said there had been no coordination with Jordan, and condemned the strikes as an unacceptable violation of its airspace. It has opened an investigation.
The disagreement lands hard on two governments that had grown close since the fall of Assad in December 2024. Both have pledged to strengthen security coordination. The church attack remains unclaimed, and three men were arrested after a shootout in Jordan, though it is unclear whether they are linked. What happens next depends on what the Syrian inquiry finds and whether that pledge holds.
In the Syrian border village of Al-Tuff, Masoud al-Salim came running after a Jordanian airstrike and found that his house was gone. There was no tent and nothing standing, and he could not find anyone. He told the Associated Press he started searching under the rubble, thinking his family might be buried there. The AP said he was rummaging through children's schoolbooks and toys. He says he lost his wife, his son and three grandchildren.
The strike was one of several carried out by the Jordanian air force on Monday night in southern Syria, in the provinces of Daraa and Sweida. On Tuesday, Jordan's Communications Minister Mohammed al-Momani acknowledged that civilians had died, and said the Hashemite Kingdom regretted it. He made the statement in a post on social media.
Amman described the operation as retaliation for an attack the previous week on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan, which killed nine people. Its air force, it said, hit "terrorist groups" linked to the so-called Islamic State. Al-Momani said the strikes inflicted heavy losses on IS, estimated at more than 20 members, and destroyed what he called a massive weapons depot belonging to the group.
He insisted that Jordan always takes precautions to avoid harming civilians. The operations, he said, were based on field intelligence meant to neutralize confirmed threats against Jordan. He added that Jordan refrained from striking sites where its intelligence indicated civilians were present, and that it regretted the civilian casualties that nonetheless occurred.
Syrian authorities gave a different account. They said the strikes killed seven people, including three children and a woman. Two of the men killed were reportedly elderly. The Jordanian claim of more than 20 IS fighters dead was contradicted by the Syrian side.
Damascus also disputed how the operation came about. The Jordanian military said it acted in coordination with Syria, but the Syrian government said there had been no prior coordination. Its Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as an unacceptable violation of, and encroachment into, Syrian airspace, and the government announced an investigation.
The dispute comes between governments that have been close. Jordan and Syria kept strong bilateral ties after the fall of the Assad dynasty in December 2024 and the rise of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa's Islamist-led government. Even after the strikes, Syria said both countries' leaderships would strengthen security coordination to obstruct efforts to destabilize them and to spill their people's blood.
The church attack itself remains unclaimed. No group has taken responsibility. Jordanian security forces did arrest three men, two brothers and their in-law, after a shootout earlier on Monday. The source does not say whether they are tied to the funeral attack.
What comes next rests on two things: what the Syrian investigation finds, and whether the pledged security coordination holds after a strike each side describes so differently.
Citazioni salienti
Jordan refrained from targeting sites where intelligence indicated the presence of civilians and regrets the occurrence of civilian casualties.— Mohammed al-Momani, Jordanian Communications Minister
I came running and found there was no house anymore, no tent, nothing. I couldn't find anyone.— Masoud al-Salim, Al-Tuff resident, to the Associated Press
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Politics & Governance