U.S. And Russian Forces Are Now Coming Into Contact In Syria

A photo from the Russian Defense Ministry website showing Russian bombers dropping their payloads on targets in Syria. Moscow's intervention in the Syrian war has increased tensions with Turkey, but has also served to drive a wedge into the NATO alliance. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service

Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics: We're Getting a Little Too Close to Starting WWIII in Syria

Weapons are dropping on US and Russian soldiers in Syria, setting up the dominoes for a conflict that could spread far beyond that country.

If ISIS is on the run, that's a good thing, right? Not entirely—especially if it means the troops of the United States and Russia, two nations with nukes pointed at each other's cities, are coming into contact. This is the story of how we sleepwalked up to the brink of armageddon.

For the past several years, both sides have been attacking their common foe, the outlaw terrorist group called ISIS, from different directions. The American-backed side, rebels called the Syrian Democratic Forces, is advancing on ISIS from the northeast. The Russian-backed side, the regime of the autocratic Assad family, is pushing them from the west. The whole region is hot. The skies are filled with Russian and American warplanes, while the Mediterranean Sea is thick with warships. Meanwhile, many hundreds of U.S. and Russian Special Forces troops are crawling across a battlefield marked by airstrikes, indirect artillery fire, and occasional urban warfare.

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WNU Editor: There are already reports of U.S. military forces meeting units from the Syrian Army on contested roads .... VIDEO: Syrian Army comes face-to-face with US Army, forces Humvees to drive off (AMN). And while both sides have restrained themselves from firing on each other .... and they are talking to each other .... U.S., Russian generals talk face-to-face on Syria (Reuters) .... worries that this may not last are increasing.