AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian troops on Saturday killed 12 infiltrators in a foiled attempt to cross from Syria into the kingdom, an army statement said.

Another 24 fled back into Syria after they were shot at by troops with the army confiscating 2 million drug capsules that were left behind, the statement said.

The Jordanian border guards acted under rules of engagement to shoot and kill anyone seeking to infiltrate across 370-km (230-mile) border with Syria.

Jordan says it has tightened controls over its northern border with Syria and officials say the army has thwarted many attempts in recent years by jihadists trying to cross from the kingdom into Syria to join a Sunni Islamist-led insurgency against President Bashar al Assad.