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Battle of Khasham
The Battle of Khasham, also known as the Battle of Conoco Fields, was a military engagement of the Syrian civil war fought on 7 February 2018 near the towns of Khasham and Al Tabiyeh in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. The Operation Inherent Resolve coalition delivered air and artillery strikes on Syrian Armed Forces and pro-government militias after they reportedly engaged a U.S. military and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) position in the region.
The US Central Command alleged that pro-government forces had "initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters" in the area, while coalition service members were "co-located with SDF partners during the attack 8 kilometers (5 mi) east of the agreed-upon Euphrates River de-confliction line". The Russian Ministry of Defence's statement, released on 8 February 2018, referred to the incident at the village of Salihiyah (located south of the SDF-held town of Abu Hamam in the Abu Kamal District) and said that it was caused by reconnaissance actions of Syrian militias that had not been cleared with the Russian operations command; the statement stressed that there were no Russian service members in the "designated district of the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria".
The number of pro-Syrian government troops—particularly the number of Russian mercenaries—has been the subject of debate. Shortly after the fighting, the American officials estimated that around 100 Syrian troops had been killed in the fighting, with some reports of Russian mercenaries among the dead. As unconfirmed accounts of casualties among Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in the strike emerged, the incident was billed by media as "the first deadly clash between citizens of Russia and the United States since the Cold War".
Reporting by Der Spiegel and the official Russian position hold that U.S. troops repelling a Syrian attack "happened to kill 20–30 Russians", while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) believed there were some Russian casualties caused by a nearby booby-trap unrelated to the assault. However, other news organizations and American official estimates ranged up to a "couple of hundred" Russians killed. The Ukrainian Security Service of Ukraine identified 65 Russians as killed through open-source intelligence, though this appraisal has the potential for forgery. A report published by the University of Southern Denmark in 2019 which referred to claims made by Der Spiegel's report, official Russian and American statements, and other sources estimated "that 65–200 Russians (of which a few may have been Russian special operators assisting or leading the Wagnerites) died as a result of the fighting, some in the field, and some in hospital beds in Syria and Russia".
In September 2014, the United States began to undertake efforts to establish a global coalition with the declared aim of countering the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Since September 2014, the U.S. had conducted military operations in Syria, primarily against ISIL forces as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. The primary U.S.-backed force in the northeastern part of Syria is the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group composed predominantly of Kurdish and Arab militiamen. In 2017, backed by U.S. forces, the SDF captured Raqqa from the Islamic State and then advanced to the Euphrates River, where a deconfliction line was established by the governments of the United States and Russia.
On several occasions, U.S. forces struck Syrian pro-government units operating in the area. In November 2017, the U.S. government made it known that they were expanding their goals in Syria beyond routing ISIL forces, to pressure the Syrian government to make concessions at the Geneva talks. This intent was, in mid-January 2018, clearly broadcast by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said the Trump administration would maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria to counter Iranian influence and ensure the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia had been conducting air military operations in Syria in support of the Syrian government since 30 September 2015. Furthermore, Russian private military contractors ("volunteers"), notably those associated with the Wagner Group, had been engaged in ground operations throughout that time, although their presence was never officially confirmed by the Russian government.
In February 2018, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, talked about the circumstances before the attack: "The coalition observed a slow buildup of personnel and equipment the previous week, and we reminded Russian officials of the SDF and coalition presence via the telephone deconfliction line. This was well in advance of the enemy forces' attack. I know you're going to ask, so I'm going to be clear that I will not speculate on the composition of this force or whose control they were under." Harrigian presented the U.S. strike as demonstration of the coalition's readiness "to prevent a resurgence of ISIS".
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Battle of Khasham
The Battle of Khasham, also known as the Battle of Conoco Fields, was a military engagement of the Syrian civil war fought on 7 February 2018 near the towns of Khasham and Al Tabiyeh in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. The Operation Inherent Resolve coalition delivered air and artillery strikes on Syrian Armed Forces and pro-government militias after they reportedly engaged a U.S. military and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) position in the region.
The US Central Command alleged that pro-government forces had "initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters" in the area, while coalition service members were "co-located with SDF partners during the attack 8 kilometers (5 mi) east of the agreed-upon Euphrates River de-confliction line". The Russian Ministry of Defence's statement, released on 8 February 2018, referred to the incident at the village of Salihiyah (located south of the SDF-held town of Abu Hamam in the Abu Kamal District) and said that it was caused by reconnaissance actions of Syrian militias that had not been cleared with the Russian operations command; the statement stressed that there were no Russian service members in the "designated district of the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria".
The number of pro-Syrian government troops—particularly the number of Russian mercenaries—has been the subject of debate. Shortly after the fighting, the American officials estimated that around 100 Syrian troops had been killed in the fighting, with some reports of Russian mercenaries among the dead. As unconfirmed accounts of casualties among Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in the strike emerged, the incident was billed by media as "the first deadly clash between citizens of Russia and the United States since the Cold War".
Reporting by Der Spiegel and the official Russian position hold that U.S. troops repelling a Syrian attack "happened to kill 20–30 Russians", while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) believed there were some Russian casualties caused by a nearby booby-trap unrelated to the assault. However, other news organizations and American official estimates ranged up to a "couple of hundred" Russians killed. The Ukrainian Security Service of Ukraine identified 65 Russians as killed through open-source intelligence, though this appraisal has the potential for forgery. A report published by the University of Southern Denmark in 2019 which referred to claims made by Der Spiegel's report, official Russian and American statements, and other sources estimated "that 65–200 Russians (of which a few may have been Russian special operators assisting or leading the Wagnerites) died as a result of the fighting, some in the field, and some in hospital beds in Syria and Russia".
In September 2014, the United States began to undertake efforts to establish a global coalition with the declared aim of countering the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Since September 2014, the U.S. had conducted military operations in Syria, primarily against ISIL forces as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. The primary U.S.-backed force in the northeastern part of Syria is the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group composed predominantly of Kurdish and Arab militiamen. In 2017, backed by U.S. forces, the SDF captured Raqqa from the Islamic State and then advanced to the Euphrates River, where a deconfliction line was established by the governments of the United States and Russia.
On several occasions, U.S. forces struck Syrian pro-government units operating in the area. In November 2017, the U.S. government made it known that they were expanding their goals in Syria beyond routing ISIL forces, to pressure the Syrian government to make concessions at the Geneva talks. This intent was, in mid-January 2018, clearly broadcast by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said the Trump administration would maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria to counter Iranian influence and ensure the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia had been conducting air military operations in Syria in support of the Syrian government since 30 September 2015. Furthermore, Russian private military contractors ("volunteers"), notably those associated with the Wagner Group, had been engaged in ground operations throughout that time, although their presence was never officially confirmed by the Russian government.
In February 2018, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, talked about the circumstances before the attack: "The coalition observed a slow buildup of personnel and equipment the previous week, and we reminded Russian officials of the SDF and coalition presence via the telephone deconfliction line. This was well in advance of the enemy forces' attack. I know you're going to ask, so I'm going to be clear that I will not speculate on the composition of this force or whose control they were under." Harrigian presented the U.S. strike as demonstration of the coalition's readiness "to prevent a resurgence of ISIS".