Damascus, Oct 28 — Syria and Jordan have agreed to establish a joint security committee to investigate recent Jordanian airstrikes on southern Syria, as the Nasib border crossing between the two countries reopened Wednesday following a temporary closure, Syrian state media reported.
The agreement was reached during a telephone conversation between Syrian foreign affairs chief Asaad al-Shaibani and Ayman Safadi, Jordan's minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, according to a joint statement carried by the Syrian state news agency SANA early Wednesday.
Jordanian air force struck several locations in Syria's southern Daraa province on Monday evening, killing seven civilians, including three children, and injuring three others.
During the conversation, Safadi expressed deep regret over civilian casualties resulting from the airstrikes and extended condolences to the victims' families, Xinhua news agency reported. The two officials stressed the importance of direct security coordination in combating terrorism and cross-border drug and arms smuggling, while reaffirming their commitment to maintaining close bilateral relations.
The agreement to establish a joint committee comes as Damascus and Amman seek to clarify the circumstances of the strikes and strengthen coordination along the shared border.
Meanwhile, Syria announced that passenger and commercial traffic through the Nasib border crossing with Jordan had returned to normal on Wednesday morning following its closure on Tuesday.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said earlier that the strikes were launched in retaliation for a deadly attack during a church funeral in Karak governorate last Friday, alleging that those responsible were linked to militant organizations operating in southern Syria.
The Jordanian military stated that the operation targeted Islamic State militants and was conducted in coordination with Damascus, while the Syrian government denied that any prior coordination had taken place and expressed its objection to military operations inside Syrian territory without advance consultation.