Jordanian and Syrian forces traded gunfire along the shared border early Friday morning in what marked the latest escalation of tensions between Amman and Damascus, dpa reported.
According to a Jordanian security source, "brief" clashes broke out between the two armies in the Tal Al Sihab region after Syrian forces opened fire on a group of some 300 refugees attempting to flee into Jordan, mistakenly targeting Jordanian forces in the process.
Jordanian military forces returned gunfire, said the source, igniting a fierce 10-minute-long battle between the two sides.
Saudi Arabian news network Al Arabiya reported that two Jordanian soldiers were injured during the confrontation, a claim both the source and Jordanian officials denied.
Jordanian government spokesman Smaih Maaytah denied that any clashes broke out between the two sides, stressing that Syrian regime forces opened fire on refugees close to the Jordanian border, injuring several, including one child who died upon arrival at a hospital in the Jordanian border city of Ramtha.
Friday morning's incident marks the first full-scale clashes between Syria and Jordan and comes one week after Amman announced a military state of alert in the border region.
Damascus has carried out a months-long military clampdown in the border region to prevent the flight of soldiers' relatives into Jordan. Activists claim that keeping the family members in Syria remains the regime's only leverage to prevent en mass military defections.
Although dozens of Syrians have been fatally injured in their attempts to cross into Jordan, the campaign has failed to slow down a refugee influx that has topped some 1,000 people per day.
The issue of refugees has become an emerging point of contention between Amman and Damascus, with Jordan having granted refuge to some 150,000 Syrians since the start of the conflict, including army defectors and opposition activists.