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Jordan carried out rare airstrikes on southern Syria on May 8, hitting a drug factory and killing a drug kingpin, Reuters reported, citing local and intelligence sources.
One airstrike targeted an empty building said to be an abandoned drug factory near the town of Khrab al-Shahm in the western Daraa countryside.
Another airstrike targeted a house in the village of Shaab in the eastern countryside of the adjacent governorate of al-Suwayda, killing Marie al-Ramthan, an alleged Syrian drug kingpin responsible for smuggling to Jordan, along with his wife and six children.
Al-Ramthan has recruited hundreds of Bedouin traffickers who join the ranks of Iran-linked forces that hold sway in southern Syria, Jordanian and regional intelligence sources told Reuters. He was reportedly sentenced to death on several occasions in recent years in absentia by Jordanian courts for drug trafficking.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi declined to confirm that his country had carried out the airstrike when he was asked during a news conference.
“When we take any step to protect our national security or confront any threat we will announce it at the right time,” he said.
Just a few days earlier, the minister threatened to take military action inside Syria if Damascus would not rein in smuggling. The Iran-linked drug war posed a threat not only to Jordan’s national security but also to Gulf countries, Safadi said during an interview with CNN
The deadly airstrikes came just a day after Syria was readmitted into the Arab League with help from Jordan. Officials told Reuters that the airstrikes were a message to Damascus that it should not mistake Amman’s resolve on the drug issue.
Struck by a serious economic crisis and a destructive war, Syria is today one of the key drug production hubs in the Middle East. Jordan, on the other side, is the main smuggling route to the lucrative drug market of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Despite repeated accusations by the West and several Arab states, the Syrian government, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah deny involvement in the drug trade.
The Jordanian airstrikes, which were apparently meant to pressure Damascus, led to much criticism against Amman, even from the Syrian opposition. The death of a woman and her six children was seen as unjustifiable. Still, there were no official condemnations from any side.
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If Israel and Jordan attack these parties together in Syria then it will be easy task to dismantle them.
The shitty little imaginary “state” has caught a bad case of khaZar clap and imagines it can slaughter with impunity, even children as its juice master does daily.
Its like Beyrouth! WHat happened at Bougara bay? They goys or dancing in the mu Light?
Tequila SUnrise (Jump Remix)
Nevertheless the reason is understandable it was s violation of the souvereignty of Syria. The Arabic states should find in the coming meeting a modus operandi for such cases without violating the souvereignty of states.
Oh they bomb drug producers and distributors but do not touch al quaida and isis on their border for years.
What do you mean, it’s as if other parties at play are already handling that situation while Jordan is experiencing a outbreak of drugs pouring across from Syria.
I don’t understand why people are mad, this is only a good advancement that should’ve been achieved way before. The Syrian government is careless when it comes to this issue and it needs to take proper action to handle this.
“…regional intelligence sources told Reuters” – “…traffickers who join the ranks of Iran-linked forces” – “…interview with CNN”, well, everything is much clearer now. The drug kingpin probably went rogue from his Israeli bosses and reprisals followed – a typical Zionist work.