![]() |
| building destroyed in a suspected Jordanian airstrike in Sweida, Syria on Jan. 18, 2024 |
Jordanian troops have been clashing regularly with smugglers at the Syrian border for more than two years.
Amman is now escalating its campaign by taking military action inside Syrian territory.
Already this year, Jordan’s air force has launched a half-dozen strikes north of the border.
Jordanian planes struck warehouses and the suspected home of a drug dealer Jan. 4 in the Syrian villages of Al-Ghariya and Shaab, respectively.
Jordan carried out four more strikes in enemy territory Jan. 9, targeting three dealers and a farm in villages near the border.
The operation “resulted in the arrest of seven wanted persons in connection with smuggling gangs and drug dealers,” according to the Jordanian army.
Another set of strikes hit Syria Thursday, killing at least nine.
Amman is under no illusions about who it’s fighting in this war: the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Former Jordanian minister Samih Maayteh said so explicitly, after dozens of narco-traffickers attempted to infiltrate Jordan Dec. 18 with explosives and 5 million captagon pills.
“It’s Iran sponsoring these militias,” Maayteh said. “These are hostile military actions against Jordan on its territory.”


