Jordan launched air strikes in Syria in what it described as retaliation for last week’s deadly attack on a church, while Syrian officials said at least seven people, including three children and a woman, were killed in the raids.

The strikes on Monday led Syria to shut its main border crossing with Jordan.

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Jordan’s Armed Forces said it struck alleged armed-group hideouts in southeastern Syria following Friday’s gun attack at a church in the Karak governorate. At least nine people were killed and dozens were injured in that attack.

The Jordanian military said the operation inside Syria was carried out in coordination with the Syrian government.

It added that the strikes killed and injured several members of what it called terrorist groups, while destroying a number of their vehicles.

Syria, however, rejected Jordan’s assertion that the two sides had coordinated the operation.

In a statement, the Syrian government said the military action had taken place without advance coordination or notice, adding that an investigation had been opened.

Syria’s Civil Defence said at least four locations in the rural areas of Deraa and Suweyda were struck on Monday evening. Rescue teams recovered seven bodies: three men, one woman and three children.

Five of those killed, including a man, a woman and three children, belonged to the same family and died when a tent in the village of Al-Tai in Deraa Province was hit, the service said. Three more relatives, including a child, were injured.

Another strike targeted Al Shayyah in Deraa, killing an 80-year-old man. A third attack struck a residential building in Muzayrib, in the Ain al-Basal area of Deraa, but caused no reported casualties.

A fourth raid hit a home in the town of Shahba in Suweyda Province, killing a 60-year-old man.

Following the raids, Syria’s border authority closed the Nassib crossing and halted movement in both directions. Nassib is the only crossing used by passengers and commercial traffic between Jordan and Syria.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry official described the strikes as a treacherous assault and said the ministry would seek to contain the consequences while protecting Syrian sovereignty.

Earlier on Monday, Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law on suspicion of links to the church attack. The detentions occurred in the village of Al-Jadeeda after an exchange of fire with security personnel.

A Jordanian government source said the suspects were seriously wounded during the confrontation, which reportedly lasted around three hours.

The arrests and Syrian air raids followed King Abdullah II’s promise of a firm response to the church attack. In the incident, three gunmen fired on mourners attending a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, roughly 90km south of Amman.

The king said those responsible would receive the toughest punishment and ordered a review of Jordan’s security arrangements.

Karak has a minority Christian community. Christians account for about 300,000 people out of Jordan’s population of roughly 11.5 million.