US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis: Another Clash Averted With Russian Mercenaries In Syria

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis says deconfliction talks with the Russians averted another clash in Syria between US troops and Russian mercenaries

AFP: US says clash averted with Russian mercenaries in Syria

US forces in Syria narrowly averted another clash with Russian mercenaries like one last month that left more than 100 opposing fighters dead, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday.

Mattis told reporters that "Russian elements" moved across a deconfliction line into an area on the eastern side of the Euphrates river where the sides had previously agreed they could operate, he said.

But he said they came "too close" to positions of US soldiers in the area.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, contacted his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, about the incursion.

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WNU Editor: More details here .... After brief buildup, pro-Syria government forces move away from U.S. troops (Reuters).

Update: No kidding .... Fewer Russian Mercenaries Entering Syria Since Airstrike: Mattis (Military.com).