Jordan carried out air strikes in southern Syria on Monday, targeting what it described as hideouts of armed groups. Initial reports said at least seven people were killed, among them a woman and children.
The Jordanian armed forces said the strikes were a response to a shooting at a church last week in the Karak governorate, in which nine people died and dozens were wounded. According to the military, the operation went after "terrorist organisations in southeastern Syria" linked to the attackers.
The military said the strikes "resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles". It did not say which groups were hit or give the precise locations of the strikes.
Jordan said the operation was coordinated with the Syrian government. Damascus rejected that claim. In a statement on Telegram, Syria's defence ministry said one Jordanian strike hit five members of a single family, including three children, a woman and a man. Two other strikes reportedly killed a 60-year-old man and an 80-year-old man. The strikes hit the southern Syrian provinces of Deraa and Suwayda.
The Syrian government has opened an investigation into the strikes. In a statement, it stressed the importance of "joint field and security coordination" in border areas. After the attacks, Syria's border authority announced it was closing the Nassib crossing with Jordan, suspending traffic in both directions. Nassib is Jordan's only passenger and commercial border crossing with Syria.
Earlier on Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law in the village of Al-Jadeeda after a shootout. The three men are suspects in the October 23 church attack. A Jordanian government source told Al Jazeera that the suspects were seriously injured in the confrontation, which lasted about three hours.
The arrests and the strikes followed a pledge by King Abdullah II to respond sternly to the attack. Three men allegedly opened fire on a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral, about 90km (56 miles) south of the capital, Amman.
Karak is home to a Christian minority. Christians make up about 300,000 of Jordan's 11.5 million people. King Abdullah said those responsible would face the "harshest penalties" and ordered a review of the country's security procedures.
