Jordanian border guards clashed with a group of armed men and thwarted their attempt to enter the country from Syria on Friday night, Jordan's military has said.
About 14 gunmen tried to enter under heavy covering fire, with border guards engaging “immediately and decisively, in accordance with established rules of engagement”, the military's statement said.
Several members of the armed group were injured and others fled back into Syrian territory, it added. It did not clarify whether the injured gunmen were taken captive.
The incident occurred only two days after Syria and Jordan reopened their only border crossing for passenger and commercial traffic. The temporary closure had been prompted by Jordanian air strikes in southern Syria that Syrian authorities said killed seven civilians, including three children, a woman and an elderly man.
Jordan’s Armed Forces said two ISIS members were killed in the strikes that targeted hideouts of the militants linked to the Karak Church shooting, in which gunmen opened fire on a funeral procession, killing nine people and wounding at least 30 others.
The air strikes, carried out on Monday in the southern Syrian provinces of Deraa and Sweida, sparked a diplomatic dispute. In an effort to ease tensions, the two countries agreed to establish a joint security committee to investigate the strikes and strengthen intelligence and security co-operation against militant threats.
