Arabic version: إعادة فتح معبر سوريا والأردن بعد غارات دامية

According to Al Jazeera, Syria will reopen its Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday morning after a brief closure following Jordanian air strikes in southern Syria. Regular passenger and commercial traffic will resume at Nassib, Jordan’s only border crossing with Syria, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported.

Jordan said its military targeted suspected ISIL hideouts in southern Syria on Monday, after gunmen carried out a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, on Friday. ISIL claimed responsibility for the church attack. The shooting killed at least nine people and wounded 34 others, while Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law on suspicion of carrying it out.

The strikes killed at least seven people in Syria’s Deraa and Suwayda areas, including five members of one family, three of them children. Syria’s Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said its teams responded to attacks at four sites. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the operation was based on field intelligence and intended to neutralise confirmed threats and imminent terrorist operations targeting Jordan’s security.

Syria and Jordan agreed to establish a security committee to examine the consequences of the strikes and develop field and intelligence coordination against terrorist threats, with the stated aim of protecting civilians. Safadi expressed deep regret over civilian deaths in a call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, while stressing Jordan’s respect for Syria’s sovereignty and stability. Jordan said the strikes had been coordinated with the Syrian government, a claim Damascus denied.