Mattis denies killing of Russian mercenaries by US strikes in Syria

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis says he has received no word that US air strikes killed multiple Russian mercenary soldiers in Syria, although he has seen reports of such deaths in the news media, reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The Pentagon has said its air strikes in Deir ez-Zor last week targeted Syrian government troops that had attacked a base housing the US and Syrian opposition forces, killing about 100 of the attackers.

“There is now reporting in the press. I don’t have any reporting that some Russians, non-Russian Federation soldiers, but Russian contractors, were among the casualties. I can’t give you anything on that. We have not received that word at Central Command or the Pentagon,” Mattis said.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman also denied knowledge of any Russian deaths in the February 7 incident, but news reports, open-source researchers, and relatives and colleagues of Russian mercenary soldiers are saying dozens of Russians may have died in the exchange.

The US Defence Department said the air strikes, which included fighter and ground-attack aircraft and Marine artillery, were launched after as many as 500 attackers waged a coordinated assault on a base housing Syrian opposition forces, along with US military advisers in Deir ez-Zor.

Asked about whether there were any Russian mercenary deaths at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on February 13, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said, without elaborating: “From an intelligence perspective, we have seen in multiple instances foreign forces using mercenaries in battles that will begin to approach the United States.”

The Pentagon earlier in the day declined to identify the 100 soldiers it said were killed by US air strikes.

“I will not speculate on the composition of this force or whose control they were under,” Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, a spokesman for US Central Command, said. “We are focused on a singular enemy: ISIS. We’re not looking for a fight with anyone else, but as Secretary Mattis said last week: ‘If you threaten us, it will be your longest, and your worst, day.'”

Over the weekend, reports emerged on Russian blogs and elsewhere that an unknown number of Russian contract soldiers were killed.

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that none of its soldiers were in the area and suggested that pro-Syrian government fighters may have failed to coordinate their actions with the Russian military.

US military officials also said that, during the air assault, they had been in contact with the Russian military, via a special hotline set up by the two sides to avoid hostile incidents between the two.

The Moscow-based Conflict Intelligence Team, which monitors Russian involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, on February 12, identified three Russians it said were among those killed.

A Cossack organization in Kaliningrad posted on social media that one of its members had also been killed.

President Vladimir Putin has said repeatedly that the Russian intervention in Syria, which began in late 2015, was winding down, and in December ordered that uniformed Russian troops and equipment be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, an unknown number of Russians working for private military companies have been serving alongside regular Russian troops. A St Petersburg company known as PWC Vagner has been one of the most prominent.

The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta said 13 Russians were killed in the attack and another 15 wounded.

Bloomberg, citing two unnamed Russians, said more than 200 contract soldiers died in the attack. The New York Times cited a Syrian military officer as saying about 100 Russian soldiers had been killed.

Grigory Yavlinsky, a liberal Russian politician who is running in next month’s presidential election, also suggested there were Russian deaths in Syria. He called on Putin to report publicly about “the actions of Russian troops in Syria at present and the number of deaths of Russian citizens regardless of their military status.”

“I also think it is essential to account publicly on interactions with the United States since the danger of an accidental or intentional direct military engagement between Russia and the United States is growing,” Yavlinsky said in a statement.

Asked about the reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow on February 13 that the government only knows about the actions of the Russian military in Syria.

“We don’t have information about other Russians who might be in Syria,” he said.

The reports of Russian deaths in the incident in Deir al-Zor came amid persistent tension in US-Russian relations, which are strained by disputes over Syria and several other issues.

They also come weeks ahead of a March 18 election in which Putin is widely expected to secure a fourth term as president.