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Jordan: Dead army officer shot dead on border with Syria

A Jordanian army officer was killed and three soldiers were injured Sunday when drug smugglers trying to enter the country from Syria fired on a military outpost along the border, the Jordanian army said in a statement.

The smugglers fled back to Syria, leaving behind a large box of drugs, the army said in a statement. “The army will respond with all its might and determination (against) any attempt to infiltrate to protect our borders and prevent anyone who dares to violate our national security.”

Jordanian officials have expressed growing concern about the escalation of drug smuggling efforts from Syria over the past year, including large quantities found hidden in Syrian trucks crossing the main border crossing into the Gulf region.

Last year, the Jordanian army said it had shot down an unmanned aircraft carrying large quantities of drugs across the border.

Jordanian officials say the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group and the militias in power in southern Syria are behind the smuggling of one of the most popular illicit drugs, a stimulant known as Captagon, which has a thriving market. Bay. Hezbollah denies the allegations, which it describes as fabricated.

UN experts say Syria, which has been ravaged by a decade-long civil war, has become a major drug producer in the region destined for Jordan, Iraq, the Gulf and Europe.

Syrian authorities have announced in recent months several major drug seizures destined for Gulf markets and say they are doing everything they can to crack down on the country’s extensive production.

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Source From: Capital

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