Syria –-(Ammoland.com)- The Wagner Group (ChVK Vagner), controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin (Russian indicted by Robert Mueller for meddling with U.S. elections in 2016), fielded a 550 man attack force supported by mobile howitzers, rockets, mortars and tanks.
The force included Iranian advisors, pro-Assad Syrians and Russian mercenaries. They attacked a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base and HQ, where anti-Assad Syrians, Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces defended. The U.S. observed the build-up of Wagner Group’s force for at least a week prior to the attack.
WHEN: During the late night of February 7 2018 and early morning of February 8, 2018, near midnight, the Wagner attack force approached the SDF base and began to shell it with tanks and artillery. The defenders, especially the Americans, were ready for them.
WHERE: The base is near the Tabiyah/Conoco oil fields at Khusham in the Deir al-Zour Province along the Euphrates River in Northeastern Syria. The Wagner group came from the West, crossing the river so that it was behind them.
Russia’s U.S. propaganda news outlet is reporting the attack.
WHAT: The attacking force suffered a “full scale U.S. precision firepower” counter attack that lasted over three hours during the early hours of February 8 2018. Casualties inflicted included over 100 killed and more than 200 wounded out of the 550 man force. One SDF member was wounded and the U.S. had no casualties.
HOW: The U.S., fully prepared because of the observation of the Wagner Group’s attack preparations, responded with overwhelming force. The Russian made T-55 and T-72 tanks, vehicles and equipment were destroyed by a combination of air power and artillery.
B-52 bombers, AC-130 Spectre gunships, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-22 Raptors participated. Many of the bombs and missiles were “precision guided munitions” (PGMS). U.S. Marine Corps artillery units also fired on the force, using the new M777-A2 155 mm Light Howitzers. AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships and MQ-9 Reaper drones, again with PGMs, mopped up any final resistance before the remnants of the force were allowed to retreat.
WHY: Speculation about the reason for the attack includes the desire of the Assad regime to take over the Conoco oil fields. Other believe it was an effort to drive U.S. Special Forces out of Syria. The school shooting in Florida has overshadowed news about the fight between the Wagner Group and U.S. backed SDF but with over 300 casualties, many of them Russian.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said that the United States is still investigating who directed an attack on a base housing U.S.-backed opposition forces and U.S. military advisers in Syria earlier this month.
SOURCES: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, The New York Times and New York Daily News.
Author: Lenden A. Eakin
I agree that the Kurds are the only good guys In this situation We should support them as they have been loyal allies in the fight against Isis They are the only group that shares our values on human rights and woman’s rights The YPG has all female units, including tank units and they have been in combat and taken casualties While Kurds are mostly Sunni Moslems, they reject terrorism We should support them in their drive for independence However the Turks have invaded Syria and attacked the Kurdish enclave of Afrin and we have done nothing So it seems… Read more »
The larger issue here is that the Kurds have been fighting for around a hundred years just to survive in that area. We under other Administrations promised we would help them after they fought proxy battle after proxy battle in our stead. And all the past Administrations just left them out in the wind after the wars were over. Do they not remind you of this very Country in the beginning? Not to say that they are ever going to have a Home Nation but damn do they deserve one. This Nation needs to keep its promises every so often… Read more »
The mercenaries were poorly supported. No significant artillery, zero air support. Their tactics sucked. Their tanks lasted minutes (only one left for the trip home). Look deeper. Was Putin shucking off some potential enemies by putting them in between the US military and Gods mercy? Was he studying the progress of the battle via live satellite to consider future tactics? He now knows how we will respond to this sort of attack and how well coordinated we are with our allies in the region.
While we were shooting at these guys, did Putin mover other assets into better positions?
Subject is incorrect or at least misleading in that base was not under US command. It appears it was rebel base hosting Americans.
Congratulations, the US Army is now the equivalent of Chinese troops in Vietnam helping the NVA fight the Saigon gov’t. Please don’t tell me we’re the good guys and they’re the bad guys. It’s true that we are the good guys, Assad is a punk, but the fact is our soldiers in Syria are foreign troops helping rebels fight against the legal government.
A government is not legal, moral or legitimate merely because it is in power. The Kurdish People have been under assault by the governments of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey for decades. They deserve a little help.
They deserve more than just a little help………..throughout history the Kurds have been the only group to build a society of normalcy in the area. They have been attacked by virtually every power hungry despot that desired whatever they possessed. Allow the Kurds the freedom to solve the situations that have plagued that area of the world and I believe they will surprise you with their success. Anyone that would fight someone like Saddam Hussein with antiquated weapons until the ammunition was exhausted, then continue to resist as zealously as possible, even if by throwing rocks, needs to be understood… Read more »
@AXP, I believe that our troops were under attack. If I understand the situation correctly they needed to defend their own lives.
Our troops were operating in a foreign country to support rebels against the established government. I’m not saying we were not fighting on the side of the angels, we were and are. I am saying that I am concerned that our troops are making war on the Syrian government ad its allies without a formal declaration of war.
I tend to wonder who we have more in common with–A Syrian government that protected minorities or a gang of wife beaters, honor killers and gay murderers–so called McCain “moderates”? Our intervention brought in the Russians, Iranians, Turks and made the NATO fractures re the Turks clear. Might want to recall the failure of our rebel training program and our failure to let the Kurds establish homeland in northern Iraq.
Poke the bear and get the fangs and claws.
Presuming that this is true in all its details, it was nice of Yevgeny to arrange this little practice session. Live targets are so hard to hire.
With the military in control of their own support and re enforcement there is not a Hillary to bumble up the mix. The men did not have to yell for support and it came with hell’s bell’s ringing. This also demonstrated how stupid it is to prep for a fight they planned on starting in plain view and to cut off retreat with a river to their back. Its like playing battleship without the center divider.
more EU inspired garbage. the problem is not the USA or Israel, it is the sold out politics, in bed with the EU agenda. people refer to them as deep state or the left, NO they are EU SELL OUTS. the USA needs to get out of THE Ukraine, NATO, as they like the UN are being used ,directed by the EU. WE NEED TO BACK THE KURDS, We need to partner with Russia… it would crush the EU, YES, THE EU THAT BELIEVES ALL NATIONS, RELIGIONS AND RACE SHOULD END.we are fighting a foreign agenda. it is called the… Read more »
The opposition learned several lessons.
Do not spend a week preparing for an attack.
Do not cross a river and leave your forces exposed between a river and a superior force.
And the most important lesson of all …
Do not, repeat NOT, expect the White House to be in the loop when you are attacking American troops — a new Sheriff is in charge — President Trump leaves it up to the US military leadership on the ground to decide how and when to defend US troops…
I’d like to believe this story, but it’s hard to do so, given the quoted news sources, virtually all of which are known to be unreliable propaganda arms of the leftist media. It would be nice, but I have to say the jury’s still out on this one.
You need to be a little sneakier than that. Massing troops for a week and telegraphing your intentions is not going to work well in Trumps military. Under Obama, sure, they would have overrun the base, same with Hillary as CIC. Go US!
Just a re-run of Barrack (the Indonesian) and ms clintons debacle in Lybia. Evidently Russian contractors know something about making weapons, but the art of military warfare illudes them. It will be interesting to see if Russian media will show a picture of the engineers and pencil pushers watching the activity from a safe location. You can bet those folks were no where near the action just like indo boy and hill. After all, ‘What the hell difference would it make’? Oh, hill, please fight hard to get the 2020 nomination…………we need to see the democratic ding-a-lings consume themselves in… Read more »
And we are expected to believe this story? Since when does the Pentagon tell the truth, about anything?
The answer is……get ready………NEVER.
You sir are an idiot….
These miscreants learned not to mess with the most Professional fighting force in the world, bar none and also the renowned Powel Doctrine of the use of overwhelming force in any conflict. This policy is a proven success KPI in military speak. Proud of our professional fighting men and women.