Report: Hundreds of Russian Syria Deaths Remain 'a Mystery' After February U.S. Clash
Source: The Daily Beast
In a four-hour February battle by a small U.S. military outpost in Syria, about 500 pro-Syrian government forcesincluding Russian mercenaries fought 40 special ops forces, despite U.S. officers calling their Russian counterparts and urg[ing] them to stop the attack, The New York Times reports. The Feb. 7 attack, which occurred near a Conoco gas plant close to Deir al-Zour, killed 200 to 300 pro-Assad forces, and no U.S. forces were harmed, the Times reported, citing interviews and documents it obtained. After U.S. forces called the Russians, they fired warning shots toward the amassing troops, who were a mixture of private Wagner Group mercenaries and Syrian forces. The troops still advanced on the U.S. personnel, leading to heavy casualties on their side. Russian officials have claimed that several dozen Russian citizens were killed or hurt in the fight, admitting four deaths. But the number could be hundreds more: A Syrian officer told the Times that about 100 of their soldiers were killed, leaving about 100 to 200 deaths from the fight unclaimed by either side. The use of mercenaries in Syria by Russians has not been fully disclosed by the Russian government.
READ IT AT THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/report-hundreds-of-russian-syria-deaths-remain-a-mystery-after-february-us-clash
pecosbob
(7,538 posts)erronis
(15,257 posts)Small scale for now. A few collateral damages such as all the civilians and the "non-russian" wagner forces from the USSR.
They are probing us as we have and will be probing them. Whoever "us" and "them" is. Subject to where the lines of nationalism, tribalism, ethnic, confederates, etc.
Mercenaries have always been part of warfare. As long as they can stay alive and functional, they are a vital part of a fighting force. They have allegiances to being rewarded in cash vs. 5,000 virgins with no functional body, or a lifetime of attaboys with missing limbs and PTSD.
There will be a lot more tests. Some more dramatic and perhaps even close to the sacred US soil. Don't forget that the USSR/Putin's homeland has been surrounded geographically by peoples and agents that have been testing them.
And there will always be back-room conversations between the real puppet-masters who decide where to stage the next "event".
TomVilmer
(1,832 posts)The U.S. protected gas plant looked extremely unprotected, but when the Wagner mercenaries attacked, all kinds of arms and soldiers were hidden and fought back for an easy victory. Euphrates River is the unofficial border between these sides of the civil war, and the Russian backed troops was lured to the wrong side.