At least 10 civilians have been killed in air strikes targeting the neighbouring towns of Arman and Malh in the southeast Syrian province of Sweida.
Jordanian forces are believed to be behind Thursday’s attacks, though its government has yet to confirm any involvement, reports Al Jazeera.
Sweida 24, a news platform based in its namesake city, said warplanes carried out simultaneous strikes on residential neighbourhoods after midnight local time (21:00 GMT).
The attack in Malh caused material damage to some houses. The second strike in Arman, however, collapsed two houses and killed at least 10 civilians, including four women and two girls, both under the age of five.
Jordan is thought to have carried out previous raids in Syria, mostly near the countries’ shared border, in an effort to disrupt weapons smuggling and drug-trafficking operations.
But inhabitants of the towns struck on Thursday questioned the choice of targets.
“What happened was a massacre against children and women,” Murad al-Abdullah, a resident of Arman, told Al Jazeera. “The air strikes that targeted the villages are far from being identified as fighting drug traffickers.”
Al-Abdullah said the bombing was not limited to houses of people suspected to be involved in drug trafficking. He noted other homes were damaged as well, terrorising villagers while they were asleep and causing needless civilian deaths.
“It is unreasonable for two girls who are no more than five years old to be involved in drug trafficking,” al-Abdullah said.
Tribes and residents of the villages near the Jordanian border issued separate statements this week disavowing any involvement in drug smuggling.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
