Jordanian army shoots and kills five suspected infiltrators entering from Syria

Jordanian border guards killed five suspected infiltrators approaching the kingdom's border from Syria in a pickup truck and two motorcycles, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

Nine vehicles approached Jordan from Syria in the past three days, and border guards opened fire to hold them back, a military statement said.

In the latest incident, which took place near the spot where Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet, troops fired on a pickup truck and two motorcycles, killing five.

Jordan has been on alert for possible infiltration by Islamic State (IS) group militants who seized swathes of territories in Syria and Iraq in 2014.

In recent months, Amman expressed concern that the US-backed offensives against IS across the region will push some of the militants closer to the kingdom's border.

Last month, Jordan's air force had shot down an unidentified drone near the border with war-torn Syria, according to a military source.

The Syrian conflict began when peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms were crushed by the ruling Baath regime during the 2011 Arab Spring.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war while millions have been displaced both internally and externally, according to independent monitors.