Jordan Shoots Down Drone on Border With Syria

On Monday, the Jordanian Armed Forces shot down a drone in the eastern military zone that attempted to illegally cross the border into Jordan from Syria.

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The border guard forces, in coordination with the Anti-Narcotics Department and other military security units, detected on Sunday the unmanned drone and shot it down.

The drone was handed over to relevant authorities, without mentioning whether it carried drugs or weapons. The official statement noted that it was the third such incident this month.

Over the past few months, Jordan has intercepted several drones seeking to smuggle narcotics and arms into the kingdom and thwarted several infiltration attempts.

The other two drones shot down earlier were carrying small amounts of drugs, mainly methamphetamine and the synthetic stimulant "captagon," produced mostly in Syria.

Jordan routinely announces ground-based anti-drug operations, but attempts to smuggle drugs with drones have proliferated after authorities stepped up border surveillance.

This comes after the first meeting of the Jordanian-Syrian joint committee for cooperation in the fight against drug smuggling. This committee began meeting after Syria was readmitted to the Arab League on May 7, after a 12-year suspension.

Syria has become a drug production center due to the instability caused by the armed conflict that began in 2011. Drugs are exported from its territory to Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.