Matthew sanderson

Matthew Sanderson AP gov US Special Forces fighting ISIS in Syria   03:46 (CNN) Several Russians who had been hired as paramilitary contractors were among more than 100 men killed in  US airstrikes in northern Syria  last week, according to their friends and families. The men were working for a private Russian company called Wagner, which has sent hundreds of private contractors to Syria to help both the Russian military and pro-regime forces, according to people who knew them.  One of the dead was 51-year-old Vladimir Putin. Like many contractors who have gone to Syria, he was a member of a Cossack group of ultra nationalists who have also fought in eastern Ukraine.  The Baltic Cossack District said in a statement that Putin was a Russian citizen who was killed in an "unequal battle

Blog post 2/8/18 Matthew Sanderson         (CNN) A large-scale attack by over 500 Syrian troops aligned with Bashar al-Assad on a base used by US troops and local US allies underscored the challenges faced by the Trump administration as it seeks to implement its long-term strategy for Syria, with both the Russian-backed regime and NATO ally Turkey recently conducting or threating attacks against America's primary ally in Syria. After being shelled by pro-regime tanks, rockets and artillery, US troops were able to counterattack, with US artillery and aircraft killing some 100 pro-regime fighters and forcing them to retreat across the Euphrates River, two US military officials told CNN Wednesday. However, the attack, which US officials assess to be aimed at capturing lucrative Syrian oil fields that US-backed forces captured from ISIS, underscores the diverse array of challenges the Trump administration faces as it seeks to ensure the long-term defeat of ISIS while simultaneous