Jordanian forces intercept, kill 3 suspected drug smugglers

AMMAN, Jordan – A website linked to Jordan’s military says troops have intercepted seven suspected drug smugglers on the border with Syria, killing three.

The Hala Akhbar site reported on Thursday that the attempted infiltration took place the previous day.

A statement attributed to security officials says border guards spotted seven men with six bags of hashish. It did not say how three of the men were killed.

The Syrian-Jordanian border is heavily guarded because of Jordanian concerns about the spillover from Syria’s six-year-old civil war.

Jordan sealed the border last year, after a cross-border car bomb attack by Islamic State extremists killed seven Jordanian border guards. Despite the heavy security presence, there have been reports of occasional infiltration attempts, mostly by smugglers.