Jordan says 'terrorists' killed in Syria in retaliatory strike; Syria shuts border crossing

Jordan says a retaliatory strike in Syria has killed "terrorists" linked to an attack on a church, and Syria has responded by closing its border crossing with Jordan. The move matters because the two Middle Eastern neighbours have only one passenger and commercial crossing, so the closure affects both travellers and trade.

Syria closes the Nassib crossing

In a statement carried by state media, Syrian authorities said passenger and commercial traffic would be completely suspended in both directions. They said the step was meant to ensure the safety of travellers and workers at the crossing. Nassib is the only passenger and commercial border crossing between Jordan and Syria.

The Syrian side added that it had opened direct channels of communication with Jordanian officials and had launched comprehensive investigations to establish the full circumstances of the strike.

Arrests in Jordan

Earlier on Monday, senior government security officials said Jordanian security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law over the church attack. The Public Security Directorate (PSD) said the unnamed "terrorists" were found hiding in an abandoned house in Karak before dawn.

Jordan's Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told state-affiliated television that the attackers were all Jordanians and had been holed up in a building in one of the villages near the site of the attack.

The source material gives no further details of the church attack itself.