{"id":36736,"date":"2017-09-21T14:25:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T14:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/21\/russia-warns-us-says-its-special-forces-are-helping-syrian-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:08:54","slug":"russia-warns-us-says-its-special-forces-are-helping-syrian-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/21\/russia-warns-us-says-its-special-forces-are-helping-syrian-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia warns US, says its special forces are helping Syrian troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW \u2014 Russia on Thursday issued a stern warning to U.S. forces and their allies in Syria, saying it has deployed Russian special forces alongside Syrian government troops in the battle for the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and that Moscow would retaliate if the Russians come under fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian Ministry of Defense said the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have already shelled Syrian government positions outside of Deir el-Zour twice in recent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian special forces deployment raises the specter of a direct confrontation on the ground between Russian forces and pro-Syrian troops they back on one side, and the U.S.-supported Kurdish-led Syrian forces on the other. U.S. special forces are also operating with the SDF, providing artillery and other support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSyrian forces have twice come under massive mortar and rocket artillery fire coming from the areas on the eastern bank of the Euphrates where SDF fighters and U.S. special forces are deployed,\u201d Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Konashenkov said the warning was delivered to the U.S. military command. Russian special forces have been deployed to help Syrian government forces fighting the ISIS militants outside Deir el-Zour, he also said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAttempts to open fire from SDF-controlled areas would be immediately met with retaliation,\u201d he said. \u201cThe firing positions in those areas will be immediately destroyed with all the arsenal at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a Syrian commander with the U.S.-backed SDF denied Russian accusations of shelling, saying at least 7 kilometers (4 miles) of ISIS-held territory separates them from the Syrian government troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SDF has already accused Russia of targeting its troops in Deir el-Zour in an airstrike last week, a claim Moscow denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia began its operation to support President Bashar Assad\u2019s offensive against the ISIS in Syria in 2015 but has mostly focused on providing air cover to government troops on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign in Deir el-Zour, Syria\u2019s oil-rich eastern province, ISIS caught up in a race between the Russian-backed government troops and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sides are seeking to expand their control of the province bordering Iraq. Many oil fields, including al-Omar, Syria\u2019s largest, are scattered on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian-backed campaign has so far been to recapture the city and provincial capital, also called Deir el-Zour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S.-backed offensive ISIS focused on the Iraq border area, which ISIS still controlled by ISIS. Washington fears that further advances by pro-government forces could help Iran, which also has thousands of militiamen fighting alongside the Syrian government, expand its influence across the region via a land bridge spanning through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, all the way to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past two weeks, the pro-government forces gained control of most of the city and crossed the Euphrates River to the area of SDF operations. Despite U.S. comments that consultations between the two sides intensified to avoid confrontation on the ground, the trading of accusations has continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmed Abu Khawla, who commands the SDF unit in Deir el-Zour that ISIS leading the fight in the oil-rich province, accused Russia of picking a fight and of seeking to obstruct the U.S.-backed advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 file photo, a Russian soldier guards as a military helicopter flies over Palmyra, Syria. (AP Photo, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Any aggression against his forces will be reciprocated, Abu Khawla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are far from them, Daesh is between us,\u201d Abu Khawla told The Associated Press in a voice message from Deir el-Zour, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. \u201cWe didn\u2019t fire a single bullet toward the regime\u201d forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian-backed offensive on Deir el-Zour began on Sept. 5, when the Syrian forces breached a nearly 3-year old siege on its troops north of the city. Syrian troops now control roughly 85 percent of the city and expect to gain full control of it in the coming week, Konashenkov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Syrian government offensive late on Wednesday captured two villages on the Euphrates\u2019 western bank, liberating about 16 square kilometers (6 square miles) of land, Konashenkov also said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t