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Jordanian warplanes struck several sites in southern Syria late on October 26, killing at least seven people, including three children, according to Syrian authorities, after Amman said it had linked a deadly church shooting to terrorist groups operating across the border.

The strikes hit locations in the southern provinces of Daraa and Suwayda. Jordan described the operation as a counterterrorism measure conducted in coordination with Damascus, while the Syrian government said it had received no advance notification and condemned the civilian deaths.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force called the operation “Jordanian Deterrence – Hmoud,” saying it targeted hideouts belonging to terrorist organizations linked to the October 23 attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the Jordanian city of Karak.

“The terrorists behind the Hmoud attack have ties to the targeted terrorist organizations,” the Jordanian military said in a statement carried by the state-run Petra news agency.

It added that the strikes killed and wounded several members of the targeted groups and destroyed their equipment and vehicles. The military did not identify the organizations or specify the locations hit.

Syrian authorities, for their part, disputed Jordan’s account of coordination and said the strikes claimed the lives of civilians.

The Syrian Civil Defense said seven people were killed across several locations in Daraa and Suwayda. Five members of one family, including three children, a woman and a man, died when a strike hit a tent in rural Daraa, while two older men were killed in separate strikes. Three other members of the family were injured.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the operation was conducted “without prior coordination or notification with the Syrian side,” according to a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency early on October 27.

Damascus announced an investigation into the strikes and said it had opened direct communication channels with Jordan to address the incident. It also stressed the need for joint security and military coordination along the border, warning that such operations must respect Syrian sovereignty.

The strikes came hours after Jordanian security forces arrested three suspects in connection with the church shooting following a shootout in the Karak area. The suspects, two brothers and their brother-in-law, were wounded during the operation, authorities said.

The October 23 attack took place during a funeral at the Greek Orthodox church in Karak, killing nine people and wounding 34. The shooting shocked the country, where attacks of this kind are rare, and prompted King Abdullah II to promise a forceful response.

“The Nashama have chased them to the very end. We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated,” the king said on X after the strikes on Syria. “We pray that the martyrs’ souls rest in peace and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya described the attack as the product of “a terroristic, extremist way of thinking.”

The investigation has also raised questions about the alleged organizational links behind the shooting. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Obaidallah Abd Rabbo Al-Maayta, said the three suspects were not affiliated with any group, telling reporters, “They only represent themselves.”

Jordan’s military, however, subsequently said those responsible for the attack had ties to terrorist groups in southern Syria without publicly identifying them or detailing the evidence.

Following the strikes, Syrian authorities closed the Nassib border crossing, suspending passenger and commercial traffic between the two countries.

The escalation highlights a growing security threat from terrorist groups operating inside Syria. With southern Syria serving as a base for their activity, and Damascus seen as either turning a blind eye or failing to contain them, neighboring countries face mounting pressure to act on their own.

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