There has been a lot of recent chatter activity again regarding a clash between the mercenary group, Wagner Group and the US military. This is more formally known as the Battle of Khasham that occurred on February 7th, 2018. The battle is also sometimes referred to as the Battle of the Conoco Fields and this area was a constant target of military engagement due to the oil fields in the area.
The pro-government forces had “launched an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters” in the region, according to the US explanation of the incident. Coalition service members had been “co-located with SDF partners during the attack 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of the agreed-upon Euphrates River de-confliction line,” according to the US explanation. The incident at the village of Salihiyah, which is south of the town of Abu Hamam in the Abu Kamal District, was mentioned in a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence on February 8th, 2018, and it was stated that Syrian militia reconnaissance actions that had not been approved by the Russian operations command were to blame. It was also emphasised that there were no Russian service members in the “designated district of the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria”.
Background
The United States started making efforts to form a worldwide alliance in September 2014 with the stated goal of battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. As part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. has been conducting military actions in Syria since September 2014, principally against ISIL forces. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a group made up primarily of Kurdish and Arab militiamen, are the main force supported by the United States in the northeastern region of Syria. With support from American forces, the SDF overcame the Islamic State in 2017 and marched to the Euphrates River, where the governments of the United States and Russia formed a deconfliction line.
U.S. forces have attacked nearby Syrian pro-government forces on a number of occasions. The U.S. government announced in November 2017 that it was extending its objectives in Syria beyond driving out ISIL forces in order to put pressure on the Syrian government to make concessions at the Geneva negotiations. Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, made it plain that the Trump administration intended to retain an ongoing military presence in Syria to thwart Iranian influence and achieve the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in mid-January 2018.
Since September 30, 2015, Russia has supported the Syrian government by conducting air operations. Additionally, at that period, ground operations had been carried out by Russian private military contractors (sometimes known as “volunteers”), particularly those connected to the Wagner Group, despite the fact that the Russian government never formally acknowledged their participation.
The coalition would observe a slow buildup of personnel and equipment within the week prior to the battle of Khasham. It has been documented through several sources that the US government did remind both Russian officials and the Syrian government of their presence with the coalition at the deconfliction line.
According to unnamed U.S. intelligence sources quoted in The Washington Post on February 22, 2018, communications intercepted days before and after the incident between senior Syrian officials, including Mansour Fadlallah Azzam, and Kremlin officials suggested that Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was thought to finance Wagner, had “secured permission” from an unnamed Russian minister to proceed with a “fast and strong” move in espionage.
A few days prior, Prigozhin had been charged by the District of Columbia grand jury in relation to the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. A publication by the Ukraine-based anti-Kremlin Inform Napalm alleged the operation had been cleared with the Russian military command by Sergey Kim, the chief of Wagner’s operations department and a former Russian Naval Infantry officer.
The Incident
A force of 500 pro-government fighters, including local militiamen, Syrian Army regulars, Shia militants from Liwa Fatemiyoun and Liwa Zainebiyoun, and reportedly Russian private military contractors, attacked an SDF headquarters close to Khasham on February 7, 2018, according to the official statement from the U.S. military.[18][13] The pro-government forces initially bombarded the SDF facility with artillery, mortars, and rockets in what U.S. military officials described as a “coordinated attack,” backed by T-72 and T-55 tanks. The headquarters was 500 metres (1,600 feet) away from where 20 to 30 shells landed.
The US military claims that coalition aircraft, including AC-130 gunships, F-22 Raptor and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, MQ-9 Reaper unmanned combat aerial vehicles, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and B-52 bombers, responded in response to the presence of US special operations personnel in the targeted base. Syrian forces were also pounded by nearby American artillery positions, notably an M142 HIMARS. Throughout the engagement, U.S. forces maintained constant contact with the official Russian liaison officer stationed in Deir ez-Zor, according to sources in Wagner cited by the news media and the Department of Defence. U.S. forces reportedly only opened fire after receiving assurances that no regular Russian troops were engaged in combat or in danger.
According to the coalition, more over 100 Syrian pro-government militants were killed during the four-hour fighting, and one SDF member was hurt. There were no reports of American fatalities or injuries.
The U.S. military determined that Russian contractors were engaged, according to two unidentified U.S. defence officials quoted by CNN on February 8; one of the officials claimed that some of the contractors had been killed in the airstrikes. Also claiming Russian contractors were present and incurred casualties during the bombings were the leader of a Kurdish militia and an ex-Russian officer.[39] James Mattis, the secretary of defence of the United States, and other senior military figures frequently claimed that American military commanders had contact with their official Russian counterparts before, during, and after the conflict, and that the Russians had informed the U.S. military that there were no Russians in the paramilitary formation.
The Department of Defence made unclassified video of the coalition’s targeted airstrikes on a pro-government T-72 tank position and a possible Russian contractor artillery station in the Khasham region available on February 13, 2018.
Final Thoughts
Every battle carries with it lessons that endure beyond its immediate consequences. The Battle of Khasham is no exception. From the intricate tapestry of motives that fueled the conflict, we glean insights into the complexities of political rivalries, territorial disputes, and the impact of economic interests on global affairs. The human cost, the sacrifices made, and the shifting dynamics of power illuminate the intricate web of consequences that follow in the wake of battle.
It provided possibly the first battle between US and Russian forces, even if not directly, in a long time. It also showed how the US military could adapt to an attack by what can be considered to be well trained forces from a military power nation.
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Ben