Jordan's air force carried out strikes against militant hideouts in southern Syria on Monday, in retaliation for a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church that killed nine people last week, the Jordanian military announced.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said fighter jets targeted several positions belonging to what it described as terrorist organizations, killing and wounding a number of militants and destroying equipment. The operation, named "Jordanian Deterrence – Hmoud," was launched in response to Friday's attack on a church in the village of Hmoud, in Jordan's southern Karak governorate.
Terrorists fire on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan's southern Karak governorate
According to the military, the gunmen responsible for the church attack were linked to the organizations targeted in Syria. The statement did not identify the groups or provide an exact casualty figure from the airstrikes. The military's claims could not immediately be independently verified.
The strikes followed the arrest of three Jordanian men earlier Monday in connection with the church massacre. Security forces located the suspects in an abandoned building in Karak, where a gunfight erupted after they refused to surrender. All three were wounded and taken into custody.
The attackers opened fire during a funeral at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church on Friday, killing nine people and wounding at least 34 others. The assault shocked Jordan, where attacks targeting the Christian minority are relatively rare. No organization has publicly claimed responsibility.
King Abdullah II condemned the church shooting as an act of terrorism and vowed a forceful response. Jordan subsequently declared three days of national mourning.