Jordan's air force struck what it called "terrorist hideouts" in southern Syria on Monday, retaliating for a gun attack that killed nine people at a funeral inside a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Karak days earlier, according to multiple reports from the region.

The attack it was avenging took place Friday, when gunmen opened fire on mourners gathered for a funeral at the church, about 55 miles south of the capital, Amman. At least 34 people were wounded in addition to the nine killed, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.

Arrests, Then Airstrikes

Jordanian security forces first moved against three suspects — two brothers and their brother-in-law — who were cornered in the village of Al-Jadeeda, according to Al Jazeera's reporting from the scene. A roughly three-hour standoff ended with the suspects seriously injured and in custody.

Jordan's military then said it struck targets inside Syria that it tied to the attack, describing the operation as coordinated with the Syrian government. Damascus disputed that characterization. Syria's state news agency SANA reported that the strikes killed several civilians, including women and children, in the Daraa countryside, while the Times of Israel's account notes the death toll and the question of who was actually hit remain contested between the two governments.

SYRIA SAYS THE STRIKES CAME "WITHOUT ANY PRIOR COORDINATION OR NOTIFICATION."

A Rare Cross-Border Strike

Jordan rarely conducts unilateral military strikes inside Syria, making Monday's operation a notable escalation even by the standards of a region accustomed to cross-border friction since the fall of the Assad government. In the aftermath, Syria closed its border crossings with Jordan, cutting off a key commercial and civilian route between the two countries, according to reporting on the fallout from the strikes.

Jordan has not publicly named the armed group or groups it says it targeted, though one report cited by regional outlets put the death toll among fighters at more than 20, with some accounts linking them to the Islamic State group. Jordanian officials have not confirmed that affiliation directly.

What's Next

With the border now closed and casualty figures disputed, diplomatic friction between Amman and Damascus is likely to continue even as both governments publicly emphasize counterterrorism cooperation. Jordan's King Abdullah II had vowed "the harshest retaliation" in the days after the Karak attack; Monday's strikes were the first concrete sign of what that response would look like.