AMMAN: Jordanian jets conducted four strikes inside Syria on Tuesday in the second such raid within a week against suspected farms and hideouts of Iran-linked drug smugglers, regional intelligence sources said.
Jordan’s army has stepped up a campaign against drug dealers after clashes last month with dozens of people suspected of links to pro-Iranian militias, who were carrying large hauls over its border with Syria along with weapons and explosives.
Jordan and its Western allies have blamed Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militia who control much of southern Syria as being behind the surge in smuggling.
Iran and Hezbollah have dismissed the allegations as a Western plot against Syria, which itself denies complicity with Iran-backed militia which opponents link to its security forces.
The sources confirmed reports by Syrian newsportal Suwayda 24 that three strikes targeted leading drug dealers in the towns of Shaab and Arman in Sweida province near the Jordan-Syria border. The fourth strike hit a farm near the village of Malah.
Last Thursday, Jordan hit similar locations in Sweida, where officials suspect much of the cross-border smuggling operations take place.
“The Jordanians appear to be targeting farms suspected of storing drugs before they are smuggled across the border, as well as the main homes and hideouts of known drug dealers,” said civic activist and researcher Ryan Marouf.
“The latest strikes indicate an escalation by Jordan of its war against drug dealers,” said Marouf, who is also editor of Suwayda 24.
There were unconfirmed reports of three people dead, including a leading local drug dealer, Suwayda 24 said, citing local sources.
Jordan has been promised US military aid to improve security, with the United States having already given around $1 billion to establish border posts since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Jordanian officials have said.
UN experts and US and European officials said the illicit drug trade finances pro-Iranian militia and pro-government paramilitary forces in Syria that have emerged during more than a decade of conflict.
The war-torn Middle Eastern country has become the region’s main site for a multi-billion-dollar drug trade, with Jordan being a key transit route to oil-rich Gulf states for a Syrian-made amphetamine known as captagon, the US and Western anti-narcotics officials have said.
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Jordanian jets strike Iran-linked drug dealers inside Syria — intelligence sources
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Jordanian jets strike Iran-linked drug dealers inside Syria — intelligence sources
- The war-torn Middle Eastern country has become the region’s main site for a multi-billion-dollar drug trade
Iran’s unrelenting attacks on Mideast shipping and energy infrastructure send oil prices soaring
- With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel
DUBAI: Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
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