Syrians Crossing into Jordan Held, Arms Seized

Jordanian border guards on Tuesday arrested two Syrians as they tried to cross into the kingdom carrying automatic weapons, a military spokesman said.

"The border guards arrested two Syrian men at dawn who were carrying automatic weapons and trying to illegally enter Jordan from Syria through a rugged border area," he told Agence France Presse.

"Investigations are under way to determine if they were trying to smuggle the weapons to sell them or to carry out terrorist acts in Jordan," he said.

The arrests came four days after border guards foiled an attempt to smuggle large amounts of weapons and drugs into Jordan from Syria, according to the army.

On June 6, Jordanian authorities again intercepted a large haul of weapons being smuggled in from Syria.

Jordan, home to around 550,000 Syrian refugees, has tightened its borders, arresting and imprisoning dozens of jihadists trying to infiltrate its war-torn neighbor.

Amman denies accusations by the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad that it has opened up its borders to jihadist fighters.