Salafis heading for Syria arrested in Jordan

Two Jordanian Salafis have been arrested as they tried to cross the border into neighboring Syria to fight President Bashar Assad's forces, a security official and relatives said on Tuesday.

"Two men from the southern city of Maan were arrested Sunday on the border when they tried to illegally enter Syria," the security official told AFP.

He did not elaborate, but relatives of the men confirmed the two were jihadists.

"Omar Bazayaah and Khaled Khatib wanted to go to Syria seeking jihad against Assad's army and regime thugs," one of the relatives, who is also Salafi, told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We have information that they are currently being interrogated."

In April, Jordan, which said it was hosting 120,000 Syrian refugees, arrested eight Sunni jihadis as they attempted to enter Syria.

Analysts have said foreign Sunni jihadis are fighting against Assad's forces, but their numbers were hard to assess.

Damascus has repeatedly charged that foreign powers, chiefly Gulf Arab states, are backing internal armed groups to topple Assad.

(AFP)