The incident at a weapons depot follows the reported deaths of scores of Russian mercenaries in a US-led coalition attack last week

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This article is more than 1 year old

Fifteen Russians employed in Syria by a private security company have been killed after an explosion rocked an arms depot at their base in the country, according to a monitoring group.



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The incident happened at the company’s weapons storage facility at Tabiya Jazira in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory directory Rami Abdel Rahman said the company in question was in charge of “protecting the oil and gas fields controlled by the Syrian regime”.

“Fifteen Russians working for a Russian private security company were killed in an explosion at a weapons depot of the company in Tabiya Jazira in Deir Ezzor province,” he told Agence France-Presse.

The Russian workers were accompanying regime forces as they advanced towards the oil and gas fields on the eastern banks of Euphrates river controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters.

The Observatory’s website suggested the regime fighters had been trying to access weapons at the depot but set off a booby-trap explosion. It said a total of 23 people were killed, including the 15 Russians. The other casualties were believed to be regime fighters of the al-Baqir brigade.

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Their reported deaths come after the US-led coalition against jihadists struck the Coneco plant last week in retaliation for an attack on an SDF base near the gas field on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river. Scores of Russian mercenaries were reportedly killed in the attack.

The government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad denounced the strikes as a “war crime”.

The US-led coalition was established in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, but it has bombed troops loyal to Damascus on several occasions.</s>five people, presumably Russian citizens, could have been killed

The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of five Russian nationals in the US-led coalition's strike in Syria, but their citizenship has yet to be verified."According to preliminary data, as a result of the armed conflict, the reasons for which are now being clarified,. There are also injured people, but all this requires verification - in particular, first of all, their citizenship - whether they are all citizens of Russia or other countries," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing.According to Zakharova, reports of hundreds of Russian citizens killed in the airstrike are "disinformation" by anti-government forces."Claims about the deaths of dozens and hundreds of Russian citizens are classic misinformation. There are not 400, not 200, not 100 and not ten [of them killed as a result of the US-led coalition's airstrike]," she emphasized."Among the first to spread this information within their channels were Syrian anti-government militants, who for some reason took a photo of the surface of Mars, put on it an image of destroyed military equipment, perhaps even Ukrainian, dated June 2014."The spokeswoman emphasized that there were many people of different nationalities in Syria's conflict zones.The purposes for their stay in war zones are different, including participation in hostilities," Zakharova said, noting that it was hard to trace all of them.Last week, US Central Command announced that the coalition conducted what it described as "defensive airstrikes" against pro-government forces near the Euphrates River as a response to an alleged attack against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters.Damascus has slammed the attack as "a new act of aggression that constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity," while the Russian Defense Ministry said that the attack showcased that the real goal behind Washington's "illegal military presence in Syria" was control over the country's economic assets rather than defeating Daesh.Later, media reports emerged, alleging that a large number of Russian "mercenaries" had been killed in airstrikes. So far, the death of one Russian citizen Kiril Ananyev from an activist group "Another Russia" has been reported by the organization's coordinator.When asked to comment on the reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that he didn't rule out that Russian nationals, who do not belong to the Russian Armed Forces, could be in Syria.Earlier in the day, he emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make any decisions to classify any information regarding Russian nationals in Syria.</s>The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that five of its citizens might have been killed in airstrikes the United States had carried out in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor on February 7, Reuters reported. The US had then claimed that it had killed 100 Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in self defence.

“Based on preliminary information, as a result of an armed encounter, the reasons for which are now being investigated, we could be talking about the deaths of five people,” the ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. She added that the citizenship of those killed had not been verified, but clarified that they were not Russian military personnel.

The spokesperson for the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group in Syria had said last week that efforts were made before and after the battle to avoid confrontation with Russian forces in the area that are supporting the Assad regime.

CBS News quoted unidentified American officials as saying that Russian mercenaries were present when the US missiles hit the forces fighting for Assad. Other media outlets too had reported that those killed were Russian mercenaries. The pro-Assad forces were most likely trying to capture oilfields in the region that had been liberated from the Islamic State group in September 2017, the coalition had said last week.</s>Fifteen Russians employed in Syria by a private security company have been killed after an explosion rocked an arms depot at their base in the country, according to a monitoring group.



The incident happened at the company’s weapons storage facility at Tabiya Jazira in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory directory Rami Abdel Rahman said the company in question was in charge of “protecting the oil and gas fields controlled by the Syrian regime”.

“Fifteen Russians working for a Russian private security company were killed in an explosion at a weapons depot of the company in Tabiya Jazira in Deir Ezzor province,” he told Agence France-Presse.

The Russian workers were accompanying regime forces as they advanced towards the oil and gas fields on the eastern banks of Euphrates river controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters.

The Observatory’s website suggested the regime fighters had been trying to access weapons at the depot but set off a booby-trap explosion. It said a total of 23 people were killed, including the 15 Russians. The other casualties werre believed to be regime fighters of the al-Baqir brigade.

Their reported deaths come after the US-led coalition against jihadists struck the Coneco plant last week in retaliation for an attack on an SDF base near the gas field on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river. Scores of Russian mercenaries were reportedly killed in the attack.

The government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad denounced the strikes as a “war crime”.

The US-led coalition was established in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, but it has bombed troops loyal to Damascus on several occasions.</s>The Chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Shamanov said media reports about a significant number of casualties in a US-led coalition attack in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor on February 7 are “fake” news.

“Judging by the intelligence agencies’ assessments, there are many signs showing that someone is deliberately overstating the actual situation,” Shamanov said according to TASS news agency.

“The information is being verified. However, there is no true and reliable information, unfortunately,” the head of the Committee concluded, admitted.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on February 7, a Syrian militia unit was attacked by the US-led coalition in the Deir ez-Zor province, as a result of lacking coordination with the Russian military. The attack left 25 militiamen wounded. However, there were no Russian military servicemen in the area, the Defense Ministry said.</s>Syrian government army units have discovered warehouses with weapons and ammunition, including those produced in Israel while patrolling areas in Deir Ez-Zor liberated from Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the SANA news agency reported.

The warehouses with a huge amount of rockets, mortars, tank shells and other ammunition were discovered in Al Boukamal and Al Mayadin areas, according to the Syrian state-run news agency. The weapons reportedly were produced in Israel.

Israel and Syria, which have a very embittered relations recently, and have a long history of troublesome controversies over the Golan Heights, have repeatedly exchanged fire, with the latest incident taking place in February.

In December 2017, Syrian Army units discovered a huge pile of the US and European-made weapons inside Daesh dens in Deir ez-Zor’s countryside.

In October, local media reported that Syrian troops had found weapons in the city of Mayadin, which had been the largest Daesh stronghold in the region, with weapons from Belgium, Great Britain, and Israel. As the Syrian military noted, the jihadists supposedly received these weapons, which were allegedly bought under Pentagon programs, in order to help the allies.</s>Syrian government army units have discovered warehouses with weapons and ammunition, including those produced in Israel while patrolling areas in Deir Ez-Zor liberated from Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the SANA news agency reported.according to the Syrian state-run news agency.A source told the media outlet that in one of the tunnels in the al-Sbikhan village to the east of al-Mayadin, the army unitsIsrael and Syria, which have a very embittered relations recently, and have a long history of troublesome controversies over the Golan Heights, have repeatedly exchanged fire, with the latest incident taking place in February.In October, local media reported that Syrian troops had found weapons in the city of Mayadin, which had been the largest Daesh stronghold in the region, withAs the Syrian military noted, the jihadists supposedly received these weapons, which were</s>The incident happened at the company's weapons storage facility at Tabiya Jazira a few days ago in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 



 Observatory directory Rami Abdel Rahman said the company in question was in charge of "protecting the oil and gas fields controlled by the Syrian regime". 



 "Fifteen Russians working for a Russian private security company were killed in an explosion at a weapons depot of the company in Tabiya Jazira in Deir Ezzor province," he told AFP. 



 Seven other people, mostly pro-regime Syrian fighters, died in the blast, he added.</s>SPUTNIK – Syrian government army units have discovered warehouses with weapons and ammunition, including those produced in Israel while patrolling areas in Deir Ez-Zor liberated from Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the SANA news agency reported. The warehouses with a huge amount of rockets, mortars, tank shells and other ammunition were discovered in Al Boukamal and Al Mayadin areas, according to the Syrian state-run news agency. The weapons reportedly were produced in Israel. CONTINUE READING

This entry was posted on 02/15/2018, 9:34 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.</s>Syrian government forces discovered warehouses stocked with weapons and ammunition, including arms produced in Israel, in Deir Ez-Zor, which had been liberated from the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS) on February 14. A day later, the Syrian state news agency released footage of the weapons.Warehouses stocked with a large number of rockets, mortars, tank shells and other ammunition were discovered in Al Boukamal and Al Mayadin areas, according to SANA, Syria's state-run news agency. As the report specified, some of the found weapons were produced in Israel.However, no official comments on the reports from the Syrian or Israeli side followed.
An arms depot explosion in Tabiyet Jazira, Deir ez-Zor, kills at least 23 people, including over a dozen Russian contractors allegedly belonging to the Wagner Group, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.