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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 Deir ez-Zor, which involved Russian contractors.
What was known by 13 February 2018 about the clash near Khasham, in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate? The reports available by then pointed to a large engagement involving pro-government forces, US-backed fighters and Russian private military contractors.
According to reports dated 8 February 2018, a force of 500 Syrian pro-government troops, supported by tanks and artillery, launched a ground assault on a local headquarters of the Syrian Democratic Forces near Khasham. More than 100 government fighters were killed in the battle, among them Russian private military contractors of the Wagner Group.
A day earlier, on 7 February 2018, United States Central Command said it had killed more than 100 pro-government troops in what it called "self-defense" strikes. It placed them 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the Euphrates de-confliction line, which had reportedly been agreed with Russia.
Taken together, the reports described a ground assault on an SDF position and a US military response, with the casualty figure of more than 100 appearing in both accounts. They also placed Wagner Group contractors among the dead.
