The Jordanian military has announced today, Saturday, that armed border clashes with smugglers coming from Syria have resulted in the injury and detention of several individuals, as well as the thwarting of drug and arms smuggling attempts.
In a statement, the military said, "Armed clashes broke out at dawn between the border guard forces and large armed smuggling groups on the kingdom's northern borders."
The statement confirmed that the army soldiers are driving the armed groups back into Syrian territory, adding that the past few days have seen an increase in infiltration and smuggling operations aiming to cross the border.
This development follows the Jordanian military's Friday announcement that it had conducted two airstrikes on unspecified locations inside Syrian territory, specifying that they were part of the pursuit of drug traffickers smuggling narcotics into the kingdom.
Reuters cited unnamed sources reporting that Jordanian aircraft bombed a house suspected of belonging to a major drug dealer in the village of Shajara, while the other strike targeted warehouses near the village of Gharaya, situated in Syria's Sweida province, close to the Jordanian border.
On December 31 of last year, the Jordanian military faced what it described as a "frenzied campaign" by drug dealers and weapon smugglers, warning of the danger posed by their possession of military strength capable of confronting security forces.
In recent days, Jordanian security forces have carried out a series of raids in the east of the country, following clashes between the military and armed groups on the border with Syria. These confrontations resulted in the killing and injury of several group members, with others detained, and the seizure of drugs, rockets, and the destruction of a vehicle loaded with explosives.
Jordan has seen hundreds of attempts to infiltrate and smuggle into its territory over the years, particularly from Syria and Iraq, due to the deteriorating security conditions in these neighboring countries.
Western drug enforcement officials claim that Syria has become the primary hub in the region for the billion-dollar drug trade, with Jordan emerging as a key transit route for Syrian-made amphetamines known as "Captagon."
