As ISIS evaporates, the buffer zones between armed combatants of several opposing groups and nations have disappeared.
Up to 300 Russian private military contractors were killed or injured while battling US-backed forces in Syria last week, Reuters reported Thursday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. A Russian military doctor who works in a Moscow military hospital and was directly involved in the treatment of wounded men evacuated from Syria said around 100 had been killed, while others shared similar figures. The doctor said his hospital was treating 50 patients who were flown in from the Syrian battlefield on specially equipped military cargo planes.
Earlier this week the Kremlin acknowledged the killing of five Russian citizens but said they had "no relation to Russia's armed forces." A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said reports of hundreds of Russian casualties were "disinformation inspired by Russia's opponents." Read More
BY DAVID P. GOLDMAN
Washington would like Moscow to inform its Iranian partners they cannot count on Russian support if they use Syria as a base to threaten Israel, writes Spengler
At least two Russians were among those killed in US-led coalition air and artillery strikes in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province last week, former associates of the deceased said on Monday. The Feb. 7 operation, which reportedly killed more than 100 troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, was in “self-defense” according to US officials, who said pro-regime forces moved against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the oil-rich province. The Russians were identified as Vladimir Loginov, a Cossack from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, and Kirill Ananiev, described as a radical Russian nationalist. Both were fighting informally with the pro-government forces during the clashes.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey are planning to hold another round of Syria peace talks next month, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said today. The exact date and location have not yet been set, but the meeting could take place in Astana, which will be holding another round of lower-level talks around the same time. Read More
- Syria’s war mutates into a regional conflict, risking a wider conflagration
- WINEP’s David Makovsky: Israel signaling price for Iran’s role in Syria