Jordan retrieves bodies of two alleged drug smugglers killed on Syria border

Jordan's military said on Saturday that it retrieved the bodies of alleged two drug smugglers killed during an operation close to the border with Syria.

The military had on Friday been conducting an operation to thwart the smuggling of "large quantities of drugs and weapons coming from Syria", killing and injuring a number of alleged smugglers.

The two bodies were discovered with drugs in their possession, the army said. The bodies were handed over to "specialised personnels", it added.

Jordan's military previously said it had killed 27 alleged drug smugglers as they attempted to enter Jordan from Syria at the end of January.

The country's foreign minister said last month that his country had taken part in productive talks with Syria over cooperation to tackle drug smuggling and other security issues.

An illegal drug industry has flourished in Syria after 10 years of civil war.

The country has emerged as a hot spot for making and selling Captagon, an illegal amphetamine. Both Syria and neighbouring Lebanon have become gateways for the drug to the rest of the Middle East, particularly the Gulf.

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime said in a 2014 report that the amphetamine market is on the rise in the Middle East, with busts mostly in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria accounting for more than 55 percent of amphetamines seized worldwide.