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What did the Khasham clash reveal by 13 February 2018?
Summary
A look back at what was known by 13 February 2018 about the fighting near Khasham in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
What was known by 13 February 2018 about the battle near Khasham, in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate? The reports available by then pointed to a large clash between pro-government forces and a local headquarters of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
According to the reports, a force of five hundred Syrian pro-government troops, backed by tanks and artillery, launched a ground assault on that headquarters on 8 February 2018. More than one hundred Syrian government fighters were killed in the battle, among them Russian private military contractors of the Wagner Group.
The United States Central Command had said on 7 February 2018 that it killed more than 100 pro-government troops in strikes it described as self-defence. The strikes took place 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the Euphrates de-confliction line, which had reportedly been agreed with Russia.
The two sets of reports describe the same area and a similar death toll. The Central Command statement framed the American action as self-defence, while the account of the battle identified Wagner Group contractors among the dead.
