Jordan strikes militants in southern Syria after last week's church attack; Syria says civilians were killed
Jordan's air force struck what it called militant hideouts in southern Syria, saying the attackers behind last week's assault on a Greek Orthodox church in the kingdom, which killed nine people, were linked to 'terrorist groups' there. A Syrian health official told the state news agency that five civilians, including women and children, were killed. Jordan said the operation was coordinated with Damascus, while Haaretz reports Syria said it was not; Jordan has also arrested three suspects.
Left 1 · Centre-left 10 · Centre 4 · Centre-right 1 · Right 1
Blindspot for the right (barely covered by right-leaning outlets)
ContextSources by leanVideoDeep diveFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
Retaliation with a civilian toll: 'Jordan strikes Syria after church attack, killing at least seven people' (Al Jazeera).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Jordan's strikes on Syria over church terror attack kill several civilians” (France 24); “Jordan says it attacked militants in Syria tied to church assault. Syria says civilians killed” (The Hill).
Right-leaning outlets
Counter-terrorism: 'Jordan strikes alleged terrorists in Syria after deadly church shooting' (Jerusalem Post).
Context
The wider geopolitical and historical background, in our words, each point linked to the source it comes from. Background, not a verdict on today's story. How we write it.
Jordan and Syria share a long border that has been a route for drug and arms smuggling.
- Bashar al-Assad's government fell in December 2024, and Syria has since been led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. Fall of the Assad regime
- Jordan has long blamed militias and smugglers in southern Syria for trafficking, including of the drug captagon, and carried out airstrikes on smuggling networks in Sweida province in December 2025. Jordan–Syria relations Captagon
- Jordan says the new strikes followed an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the kingdom that killed nine people. Al Jazeera
Checked 2026-10-27. Links were opened and returned a page that day.
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Sources by lean
Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.
Left 2
Centre 2
- BBC News
Jordan carries out deadly strike in Syria in retaliation for church attack - France 24
Jordan's strikes on Syria over church terror attack kill several civilians (paywalled or blocks bots)
Showing 2 from each side of 17 rated outlets (L 11 / C 4 / R 2). Capped at 2 because that is all we found on the thinnest side. More coverage
Video
News reports from outlets with a bias rating, balanced like the articles: the same number from the left, the centre and the right. A side with no matching video is named, never padded. Every video was checked to exist on YouTube on the day; titles are the publishers' own. Links open YouTube; nothing from YouTube loads on this page. How we pick.
Left 2
Centre 0
No centre-rated outlet video found for this story. We don't fill the gap with an unrelated video.
Right 0
No right-rated outlet video found for this story. We don't fill the gap with an unrelated video.
Showing 2 from each side that has one; none found from the centre or right.
YouTube searches (live results, not checked or balanced by us): News videos · Explainers · Podcasts
Deep dive
The two opposites side by side, seeking to understand rather than judge. These are possible readings of the coverage, built from the articles linked on this page; they are not claims about anyone's motives. How we write it.
Seen from the left
“Jordan strikes Syria after church attack, killing at least seven people” Al Jazeera
A possible reading: civilians in southern Syria pay the price for strikes across a border.
May be protecting: civilian lives across the border.
Seen from the right
“Jordan strikes alleged terrorists in Syria after deadly church shooting” Jerusalem Post
A possible reading: a state is acting against militants it links to a deadly attack on its own soil.
May be protecting: a state's duty to stop attacks on its own people.
What they agree on
Jordan struck targets in southern Syria after linking last week's church attack, which killed nine, to militants there. Both condemn the church attack.
Where they truly differ
Syria says civilians including women and children were killed; Jordan says it hit militant hideouts. Reports differ on whether Damascus agreed to it.
The paradox
Both framings can be true: a strike on militants and civilian deaths in the same operation.
Open questions
- Who were the people killed, and how were they identified?
- What evidence links the church attackers to groups in Syria?
- Shared question: who verifies the casualty figures?
Follow the money
Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.
Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (17 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| Haaretz | Left | According to the Financial Times, Haaretz does not report its earnings. They were also the first Israeli paper to introduce the paywall. For subscription fees, please see here. source |
| Al Jazeera | Centre-left | Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source |
| Associated Press | Centre-left | The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled “ AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,” t he Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as “mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year.” source |
| Bloomberg | Centre-left | Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source |
| Deutsche Welle | Centre-left | The German government funds Deutsche Welle (DW). They state, “DW is financed via funding from the state – i.e., from tax revenue. This is in contrast to the domestic public channels, which are funded via broadcasting fees.” source |
| NBC News | Centre-left | No ownership data found |
| New York Times | Centre-left | The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source |
| The Guardian | Centre-left | The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source |
| Times of Israel | Centre-left | The Times of Israel is co-owned by David Horovitz and Seth Klarman. Revenue is generated through advertising..push({}); source |
| Washington Post | Centre-left | In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos is a frequent target of Trump, who has accused the businessman of using the Postal System as its “ Delivery Boy. ” The newspaper’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, is not involved in its news coverage. source |
| Ynet News | Centre-left | Yedioth Ahronoth owns Ynetnews. Advertising derives revenue. source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| France 24 | Centre | France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source |
| Reuters | Centre | In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source |
| The Hill | Centre | In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source |
| Jerusalem Post | Centre-right | In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. for $17-million, which Canadian-born British Conservative Conrad Black owned. Conrad Black later was charged with “swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million.” He was serving a prison sentence; however, in 2019, President Donald Trump pardoned him. source |
| Newsmax | Right | Newsmax is owned by publicly traded Newsmax Inc., which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NMAX on March 31, 2025. The company completed a $75 million public offering after previously raising approximately $225 million through a preferred-stock offering. source |