Jordan says airstrikes in southern Syria killed more than 20 Islamic State militants; Syria says 7 died; main border crossing was briefly closed

As of 6:41 a.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026

Jordan said Tuesday that its airstrikes in southern Syria the previous evening killed more than 20 Islamic State militants, after a deadly church attack in Jordan that authorities linked to militants operating across the border, Reuters reported. Syria said the strikes killed seven people, including three children and a woman.

"Yesterday's strikes in southern Syria targeted the Islamic State group and killed more than 20 militants," Jordanian government spokesperson and Government Communication Minister Mohammad al-Momani said, according to the Lebanese newspaper Annahar. Jordan regrets the civilian casualties, Momani said in a post on X, Reuters reported. Momani also said Jordanian forces refrained from targeting sites where intelligence indicated civilians were present, according to Annahar.

Jordan said Monday that its air force had struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects in last week's church attack, which killed nine people in Karak, were linked to "terrorist groups" based there, Reuters reported. No group had claimed responsibility for the church attack, Reuters reported.

Syria's account

The Jordanian military said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Damascus, but Syria's government said they were carried out without prior coordination and that it would investigate, Reuters reported. Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but said Damascus was coordinating with Amman and would set up a joint security committee to strengthen border security, according to Reuters.

Syria's civil defense agency reported seven people killed in several locations, six of them in Daraa province, including three children, and a man killed in a strike on a home in neighboring Sweida province, Al Arabiya reported. Health authorities in Daraa reported six dead, including three children and a woman, according to Al Arabiya.

A resident of Al-Mismiyah in southern Syria told Reuters at a funeral for four people, including three children, that the dead were from a poor family who tended sheep and goats.

Border crossing briefly closed

Syria closed the Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Tuesday, suspending passenger and commercial traffic in both directions because of developments on the ground in Daraa province, the Syrian General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs said in a statement, Reuters reported. Nassib is Jordan's only passenger and commercial border crossing with Syria, according to Reuters.

The closure was brief. Syria said it would restore normal passenger and commercial traffic through Nassib from Wednesday morning, Oct. 28, the state news agency SANA reported, according to Reuters. Al Jazeera reported that the crossing was reopening as the two countries agreed to investigate the strikes.

What is not known

The militant toll is Jordan's figure and the civilian toll is Syria's; neither has been independently verified. Jordan has not publicly identified those it says were killed. The findings of the joint security committee have not been made public.