AMMAN (AFP) - Jordanian air force fighter jets destroyed a number of armoured vehicles on Wednesday as they tried to cross into the kingdom from neighbouring Syria, the army said.

"Royal air force jets fighters today destroyed a number of vehicles that attempted to cross into Jordan from Syria," the army said in a brief statement, without elaborating.

An army spokesman declined to give any more details.

Jordan's border guards in recent weeks clashed with and arrested several people as they attempted to cross into the kingdom from Syria, where a conflict has been raging for more than three years.

The government in Damascus has regularly accused Jordan of assisting rebels fighting its forces. But Amman denies the accusations, saying it has tightened control of the border and jailed dozens convicted of trying to cross the frontier illegally.

The kingdom, home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, says arms smuggling across the border with Syria has risen by 300 per cent in the past year.