Jordanian army says it killed 5 drug smugglers in clashes on the Syrian border

AMMAN (AP) — The Jordanian army says it has killed five drug and weapon smugglers and arrested 15 in a day of clashes with armed groups of smugglers attempting to cross into Jordan from Syria. The army statement says the clashes broke out before dawn between Jordanian border guards and “armed organizations that practice smuggling and rely on systematic infiltration operations.” It says the smuggling operations have recently increased in frequency. The state-run Jordan News Agency reports that in recent days smugglers have “aimed to cross the Kingdom’s border by force by targeting border guards.”