AMMAN (Reuters) - The Jordanian army on Sunday killed four smugglers seeking to cross into the kingdom from Syria’s southeastern desert border area, an army source said.

The source told Reuters two others were arrested in what was a large drugs smuggling operation into the kingdom from the lawless eastern Syrian desert, where dealers have long sought to use the kingdom’s borders as a conduit to the Gulf market further south.

The kingdom has sealed its borders with Iraq and Syria, where attempts by both smugglers and militants seeking to infiltrate its territory are common.