Jordan says troops kill 2 drug smugglers near Syria border

Jordanian troops clashed with drug smugglers on the border with Syria on Friday, killing two people and seizing a shipment of hashish and amphetamines, the military said.

The military said it thwarted two attempts to "infiltrate a group of people and smuggle quantities of drugs" into Jordan. The statement said "rules of engagement were applied, which resulted in the killing of two people and the arrest of a third." It said the others fled back into Syria following the incident.

The amphetamines were labelled captagon, the street name for a drug whose chemical base is fenethylline.

Jordan is a close Western ally and has long been seen as an island of stability in a turbulent region. The kingdom hosts more than 650,000 Syrian refugees.