At least seven people, including three children and a woman, have been killed after the Jordanian air force carried out a series of airstrikes in Syria’s southwestern provinces of Dara’a and Suweida in “retaliation” for last week’s deadly church attack.

Jordan’s armed forces said in a statement that it targeted “hideouts” of militant groups in southern Syria in response to Friday’s unprecedented attack on a Greek Orthodox Church in the southern Karak governorate, which killed nine people and wounded nearly 40 others.

It said the strikes on Syria were launched “in coordination with” the ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime.

The statement further claimed that the raids “resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles.”

The HTS, however, denied any coordination with Jordan.

It said in a statement that “the military operation was conducted without prior coordination or notification,” and that relevant officials have launched an investigation.

Syria’s Civil Defense reported that at least four locations in rural Dara’a and Suweida provinces were struck on Monday night, with its teams recovering the bodies of seven individuals: three men, one woman, and three children.

Five of the deceased – a man, a woman, and three children – were members of the same family, who were killed in an attack on a tent in the village of al-Tai in Dara’a province, the service said. Three additional family members, including a child, sustained injuries.

Jordanian security forces arrest 3 men over deadly attack on church

The Public Security Directorate said the three suspects were arrested following a dawn shootout and that all three were wounded.

A subsequent attack struck the al-Shayyah area, also located in Dara’a, resulting in the death of an elderly man aged 80.

A third struck a residential structure in Muzayrib, located in the Ain al-Basal region of Dara’a, causing no injuries. A fourth hit a residential structure in the town of Shahba in Suweida province, resulting in the death of a 60-year-old man.

The attacks prompted HTS officials to close the Nassib crossing with Jordan, which serves as the main crossing for passengers and commercial goods between the two countries.

On Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law on suspicion of involvement in the church attack. 

King Abdullah II directed authorities on Friday to respond with “an iron fist” against what he called the outlaws of Islam and anyone attempting to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.

On Sunday, eight of the nine victims were laid to rest next to the church, in a funeral that drew a huge crowd.