When Russia's Wagner Group took on US Special Forces (and lost)

In February of 2018, a small group of approximately 50 American special operators, Marines, and their Syrian allies found themselves significantly outnumbered, outgunned, and under attack inside a burned-out natural gas refinery in Eastern Syria. As dozens of Russian armored vehicles, including tanks, closed in on their position amid a downpour of tank shells, artillery fire, and mortars, the U.S. troops dug in to hold their position, well aware of the impossible odds that they faced, accepting that they would likely die holding their ground... ... Until American AirPower arrived to turn the tides. Here's their story. 📱 Follow Sandboxx News on social Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandboxxnews Instagram: https://instagram.com/sandboxxnews Facebook: https://facebook.com/sandboxxnews TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandboxxnews 📱 Follow Alex Hollings on social Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexHollings52 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexhollings52 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexHollings... TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/alexhollings52 You can read our full dive into the Battle of Khasham here: https://www.sandboxx.us/news/how-us-special-forces-took-on-wagner-group-mercenaries-in-an-intense-4-hour-battle/ You can read the first-hand accounts published by The War Horse here: https://thewarhorse.org/special-forces-soldiers-reveal-first-details-of-battle-with-russian-mercenaries-in-syria/ You can read transcripts of the audio recording from Wagner Group Mercenaries here: https://www.polygraph.info/a/us-wagner-russia-syria-scores-killed/6741753.html Further Citations: - https://www.sandboxx.us/news/america-and-its-allies-continue-to-chip-away-at-isis-with-latest-raids-2/ - https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Timeline-of-Syrian-Chemical-Weapons-Activity - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877 - https://www.sandboxx.us/news/ukraine/this-is-the-rundown-of-wagner-groups-mutiny/ - https://www.sandboxx.us/news/military-affairs/former-us-army-general-says-wagner-boss-yevgeny-prigozhin-likely-isnt-dead-if-he-were-putin-wouldnt-be-keeping-it-a-secret/ - https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/624964/us-russia-sign-memorandum-on-air-safety-in-syria/ - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-agrees-maintain-deconfliction-channel-us-syria-strikes/ - https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/1144601/trump-orders-missile-attack-in-retaliation-for-syrian-chemical-strikes/ - https://www.sandboxx.us/news/russian-aircraft-continue-to-fly-over-us-base-in-syria-in-violation-of-agreement/ - https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14344/heres-the-definitive-account-of-the-syrian-su-22-shoot-down-from-the-pilots-themselves - https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-pilot-explains-how-he-shot-down-a-syrian-fighter-jet-2017-7 - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-brett-mcgurk-on-face-the-nation-january-20-2019/ - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/world/middleeast/syria-russia-us-air-war.html - https://www.sandboxx.us/news/military-affairs/us-sends-f-22s-to-middle-east-to-deter-aggressive-russian-pilots/ - https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0266 - https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/03/20/collision-avoidance-lessons-of-u.s.-and-russian-operations-in-syria-pub-78571 - https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-leaked-audio-humiliating-defeat-by-us-forces-2018-2 - https://weaponsystems.net/system/116-ZU-23-2 - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/world/middleeast/american-commandos-russian-mercenaries-syria.html - https://coffeeordie.com/wagner-group-syria-khasham - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/30/wagner-syria-russia-battle-united-states/ - https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/03/09/five_years_after_a_disastrous_syria_battle_wagner_is_more_dangerous_than_ever_886224.html - https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/wagner-publishes-details-on-us-air-strikes-during-battle-of-khasham - https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12344 - https://www.cardin.senate.gov/press-releases/cardin-wicker-colleagues-lead-legislation-to-designate-wagner-group-as-a-foreign-terrorist-organization/ - https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD1088614.pdf - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-casualtie-idUSKCN1FZ2DZ - https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-syria-mercenaries-killed-widow-says-thrown-into-battle-like-pigs/29039898.html - https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2023/06/death-from-above-documenting-equipment.html - https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/17/putin-shadow-warriors-stake-claim-syria-oil-energy-wagner-prigozhin-libya-middle-east/ - https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2017/12/12/russian-mercenaries-offered-cut-of-profits-from-oil-fields-in-syria-a59920 - https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/wagner-group-syria-profiting-failed-states - https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-us-air-strike-syria-20180208-story.html