Airstrikes Attributed to Jordan Leave 10 Dead in Southern Syria

Local Syrian media and observers monitoring the conflicts in the country reported that following airstrikes on Thursday, January 17, in southern Syria, which Jordan is suspected of carrying out, 10 people, including children, were killed. According to Reuters, there was no immediate comment from Jordanian officials. The Jordanian army has intensified its anti-drug trafficking campaign in recent weeks following clashes with dozens of suspects linked to Iranian-backed militants who were transporting significant shipments of drugs along with weapons and explosives at the border with Syria. A local media report stated that the airstrikes on two houses in the town of Arman in the southern province of Sweida resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals. This report noted that two children, five women, and three men were killed in the attacks, but did not hold Jordan responsible for these strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in the UK also reported that at least 9 people, including two children, were killed. According to Reuters, Jordan and its Western allies hold the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and other Tehran-backed proxy groups responsible for the increase in drug trafficking. The report, citing American and Western sources, stated that Syria has become the main regional hub for the multi-billion dollar drug trade, with Jordan serving as a key transit route to the oil-rich Gulf states for 'amphetamine', known as 'captagon', produced in Syria. Earlier, the Jordanian Air Force had attacked the hideouts of Iranian-backed drug traffickers inside Syrian territory for the third time on January 8. While the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah deny involvement in drug trafficking and claim it is a Western conspiracy against Syria, Syria also denies any involvement of Iranian-backed militants in drug trafficking; a connection that opponents claim is established with 'Syrian security forces'. UN experts and American and European officials believe that the 'captagon drug trafficking network' finances Iranian-backed militants and pro-government militia forces in Syria. The European Union has sanctioned two cousins of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, two Lebanese citizens, and dozens of others for their involvement in 'extensive drug trafficking operations'. The United States also imposed sanctions on these four Syrian-Lebanese citizens on April 8 this year for their alleged participation in the production or export of the drug 'captagon'.