Damascus, Amman contradict each other on attack that killed civilians

What the report says

Jordan and Syria have offered conflicting accounts of a deadly cross-border strike that followed an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan. According to Al Jazeera, Jordan said its air force carried out retaliatory strikes on Monday evening against what it described as terrorist positions in southern Syria, claiming the operation killed more than 20 ISIL (ISIS) fighters linked to the church attack. Damascus, however, said the strikes were carried out without prior coordination or notification and called them a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Public anger in Syria intensified after images circulated of civilians killed in the strikes, including a grandmother and three grandchildren in the village of al-Taff in Deraa province. Al Jazeera reported that three other family members were wounded there, while separate strikes in Deraa and Suwayda also killed an 80-year-old man in al-Shayah farms and another man in Shuhayb. Syrian civil defence teams, known as the White Helmets, were involved in rescue operations.

The dispute comes amid a fragile but important relationship between Amman and Damascus. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said both governments have reasons to preserve cooperation on border security, smuggling and refugee issues, but that the civilian deaths have raised pressure on Damascus to show accountability and answer public demands. Syrian authorities briefly closed the Nassib border crossing before reopening it to traffic, and they said work on a joint security committee with Jordan would continue.