Jordan strikes southern Syria after church attack; Syria says seven killed

Jordan carried out airstrikes in southern Syria on the night of Monday, 26 October 2026. Jordan said the strikes targeted Islamic State militants. It described them as retaliation for an attack the previous week on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan. That attack killed nine people.

Syrian authorities said the strikes killed seven people, including three children and a woman. Members of the al-Salim family were killed when a strike hit their home in a village near the Jordanian border. Deutsche Welle names the village Al-Tuff. The Hindu names it Al-Taf.

Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as an "unacceptable violation" of Syrian airspace. On Tuesday, 27 October, Jordanian government official Mohammed al-Momani expressed regret for civilian casualties.

On 26 October, Jordanian security forces arrested three men over the church attack after a shootout. They are two brothers and a relative by marriage.

According to Syrian authorities, as reported by Deutsche Welle, the strikes hit Daraa and Sweida provinces. The Hindu reported that Syria said five of the dead were killed in Al-Taf, in Daraa province, and two elsewhere in the south. According to The Hindu, an AFP reporter saw a large crater at the family's destroyed home, with school books and clothes in the rubble.

"We were asleep when the missile hit us. My mother, my older brother and his three children -- two boys and a girl -- were killed," The Hindu quoted Nassouh al-Salim as saying. Masoud al-Salim told the Associated Press, according to Deutsche Welle: "I came running and found there was no house anymore, no tent, nothing."

According to The Hindu, Syria closed the Nassib border crossing, known as Jaber in Jordan, citing "the current circumstances". Deutsche Welle reports that Syria announced an investigation. According to Deutsche Welle, no group has claimed the church attack.

What is disputed

Jordan says the strikes were coordinated with Damascus. Syria says there was no prior coordination. Jordan says more than 20 Islamic State fighters were killed. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include independent verification of either side's figures.

What each side says

Al-Momani, described as communications minister by Deutsche Welle and as government spokesman by The Hindu, said a large weapons depot was destroyed. Deutsche Welle quoted him as saying Jordan "refrained from targeting sites where intelligence indicated the presence of civilians and regrets the occurrence of civilian casualties". The Hindu quoted him as saying Jordan "holds great respect for the Syrian state and its brotherly people".

The Hindu quoted Syria's Foreign Ministry as calling the strikes "a blatant violation of the principles of good-neighbourliness and Syrian national sovereignty". According to Deutsche Welle, the Syrian government also said both countries' leaderships will strengthen security coordination.

The Hindu quoted Jordan's King Abdullah II as saying: "We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment."

Analysis

The strikes test relations between two neighbours whose accounts diverge on basic points. The two sides disagree on whether the strikes were coordinated and on who was killed. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not describe evidence linking the targets in Syria to the church attack. Independent verification of casualties could shape how the strikes are judged. Syria's own statement that security coordination will be strengthened points to one path. The border closure and Syria's announced investigation point to another, more strained path. How long the crossing stays shut, and what the investigation finds, may show which direction prevails.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.