The Jordanian army announced today, Tuesday, the death of one of its personnel and the injury of another in an armed clash with dozens of smugglers on the northern border with Syria, according to the Petra news agency. It was clarified that "at around four o'clock this morning, an armed clash occurred at the northern border of the Kingdom with dozens of smugglers who opened fire on the Jordanian border guards, taking advantage of the visibility issues and dense fog to smuggle large quantities of drugs. The rules of engagement were applied, resulting in the killing of several smugglers and forcing the rest to flee into deep Syrian territory."
It was reported that "the clash also resulted in the martyrdom of First Sergeant Iyad Abdel Hamid Al-Nuaimi and the injury of First Sergeant Salem Muftan Salem, both from the border guard forces," emphasizing that "the Jordanian Armed Forces - Arab Army deals with any infiltration or smuggling attempts with strength and firmness to protect the borders and prevent anyone from jeopardizing Jordan's national security."
Washington, its European allies, and Western officials involved in drug control have stated that Syria has become a major hub for drug trafficking worth billions of dollars in the region, with Jordan emerging as a primary transit route for Syrian-made amphetamine, known as Captagon, to Gulf countries.
Similar to Western countries, senior Jordanian officials accuse the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Iran-backed factions controlling large parts of southern Syria of being behind the rise in drug smuggling attempts and supporting the operations of the smugglers. Hezbollah denies these accusations.
Experts from the United Nations and Washington claim that the illegal drug trade is used to finance the deployment of Iran-aligned factions and pro-government paramilitary forces that have emerged due to the ongoing conflict lasting over a decade.
Jordan has received promises for increased U.S. military aid to enhance security along its borders, with Washington providing around a billion dollars since the beginning of the Syrian conflict to establish border posts, according to Jordanian officials.
High-ranking Jordanian officials say they have expressed their concerns to the Syrian authorities and Russia, the key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Local and Western intelligence sources indicate that Jordan, having lost patience over what it claims are unfulfilled promises to reduce drug trafficking, has taken matters into its own hands and executed several strikes inside Syrian territory this year, targeting drug manufacturing locations linked to Iran.
Officials expect an increase in smuggling attempts, which also use drones, during the upcoming winter months. Damascus claims it is doing its utmost to curb smuggling operations and denies any cooperation between its army and security forces with Iran-backed factions. Iran states that such accusations are part of Western conspiracies against the country.
