Plight of stranded Syrian refugees worsens as Jordan blocks aid - aid workers

FILE PHOTO - Syrian refugees board a Jordanian army vehicle after they crossed into Jordanian territory with their families, at the Rakban refugee camp in the Al Ruqban border area, near the northeastern Jordanian border with Syria, and Iraq, near the town of Ruwaished, east of Amman September 10, 2015. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed/File Photo

AMMAN (Reuters) - Thousands of Syrian refugees stranded on Jordan's northeastern border with Syria are running out of food after a militant suicide attack prompted the army to shut the area, international relief workers and refugees said on Monday.

Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally, declared the area a closed military zone after a suicide bomber, believed to be an Islamic State militant, drove a vehicle last Tuesday from the Syrian side and rammed it into a military base close to Rukban camp, killing seven border guards.