The strikes “targeted an area from which drug traffickers close to the Lebanese Hezbollah and Syrian security services launch their smuggling operations” near the Syrian-Jordanian border, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based war monitor.
Jordan has become a transit point of drugs, particularly captagon, being smuggled out of Syria which has turned into a Middle Eastern hub for narcotics. The Jordanian military has previously downed drones carrying narcotics, as well as weapons.
Numerous meetings have taken place between Jordanian and Syrian officials in an attempt to curb the illicit drug trade, but Amman remains dissatisfied with the outcome of these talks. The highest-level meeting took place in July between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A statement from the Jordanian foreign ministry said that Safadi and Assad agreed to form a joint committee to combat drug smuggling, and hold its first meeting in Amman as soon as possible.
Safadi emphasized the danger represented by drug smuggling through the Syrian borders into Jordan and the necessity of cooperation to combat it.
On Tuesday, the Jordanian army announced it had arrested a group of smugglers trying to enter Jordanian territory and confiscated a large quantity of weapons.
