Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
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Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that drug smuggling attempts continue across the Syrian border, according to the Arab World News Agency.

Speaking at the virtual ministerial meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs in Washington, Safadi said that Jordan confiscated over 65 million Captagon pills during the past two years.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted the virtual Ministerial-level meeting to provide the foundation to combine efforts and prevent the production and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends and use patterns, and respond to their public health impacts.

Safadi said that forming the coalition is essential in addressing the escalating threat of industrial drugs.

He called for cooperation in providing border protection technology and exchanging intelligence information in confronting the drug threat, which requires a joint international effort.

Last month, the Jordanian Armed Forces announced that it had shot down a drone carrying narcotics from Syrian territory.

Combating drug smuggling and dumping in the Jordanian market topped Jordan's priorities in recent talks in Amman, with the participation of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.

In a statement after the meeting, Syria agreed to help prevent drug trafficking, work to identify drug traffickers and cooperate with Jordan and Iraq to end trafficking.

Last May, according to press reports, Jordan launched an air strike targeting the most prominent strongholds of drug smuggling and manufacturing in southern Syria, killing a Syrian drug smuggler.



ISIS Kills Five Kurdish Fighters in Eastern Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
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ISIS Kills Five Kurdish Fighters in Eastern Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)

The ISIS militant group said on Monday it killed five Kurdish fighters in an attack in eastern Syria's Deir Ezzor, according to the group's news agency.

The spokesperson for Syria's Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Farhad Shami confirmed to Reuters that five members were killed in the attack which he described as "one of deadliest" against the group in a while.

Deir Ezzor city was captured by the ISIS group in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.

Former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a so-called “caliphate” over a quarter of Syria and Iraq in 2014 before he was killed in a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria in 2019 as the group collapsed.

It has been recently trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia.