CBS: Putin ally's private army behind attack on U.S.-backed forces?
MOSCOW -- We are learning more about who was likely behind an attack earlier this month on a rebel base in northern Syria, where American forces were embedded with the fighters. The Russian mercenaries who carried out the siege -- which was repelled by U.S. airstrikes -- were reportedly working for oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin and the same man accused of running a troll factory that targeted American voters.
As CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports, the attack took place on Feb. 7, and the U.S. response resulted in a number of Russian mercenaries being killed. There were no U.S. casualties.
When the U.S. soldiers called in airstrikes to defend themselves, they had no idea they would end up killing dozens Russian civilians.
Read more ....
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- February 23, 2018
Russian mercenary boss spoke with Kremlin before attacking US forces in Syria, intel claims -- The Telegraph
Russian oligarch indicted by Mueller reportedly told Putin before mercenaries in Syria attacked US forces -- Business Insider
Pentagon Says U.S. Was Told No Russians Involved In Syria Attack -- RFE
Has Russia Deployed Latest-Generation Stealth Warplanes in Syria? -- VOA
New Russian Su-57 Stealth Jets Deployed to Syria Despite Putin Promise of Drawdown -- Newsweek
Mission Possible: Here's What Those Russian Su-57 Jets May Be Doing in Syria -- Sputnik
Russia's Su-57 Deployment in Syria Is a Dangerous Farce -- Tom Cooper, National Interest
Turkey’s Syria Operation Showcases Domestic Weapons Industry -- VOA
Afghanistan Unveils Plans for Controversial Militia Force -- VOA
P-8 Poseidon: Countering Chinese Aggression in the Indo-Pacific -- RCD
The Toolset of an Elite North Korean Hacker Group On the Rise -- Wired
Panel: Japan Should Look to Conventional Deterrents to Curb North Korean Threat -- USNI News
Donors pledge $500 million for troops in West Africa's Sahel -- Reuters
G5 Sahel military force still needs money -- Al Jazeera
Russia’s Baltic Fleet to get advanced S-400 air defense missile systems in 2018 -- TASS
UK Royal Navy Monitor Russian Naval Force Passage in English Channel -- Sputnik
State Department approves $3.2B missile sale to Sweden -- UPI
France, US are negotiating ISR capability for Reaper drones, official reveals -- Defense News
In a first, US Navy carrier to visit Vietnam since war -- Defense News
Air Force replaces T-38C with T-X for pilot training -- UPI
Northrop Grumman gets production, support contracts for E-2D Hawkeye -- UPI
Infantry Officer Course lowers requirement for hikes -- Marine Times
United Technologies Aerospace Systems awarded $2.5B for spare parts -- UPI
2nd Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams Delivers to Navy -- USNI News
Hand-Me-Down Drones: US Navy May Pick Up Air Force’s Retiring Predators -- Sputnik
Army Research Lab awards $25 million contract for Internet of Battlefield Things -- Fifth Domain
Top Oversight Dem pushing for White House documents on Niger ambush -- The Hill
Mattis to recommend Trump allow transgender troops stay in the military: report -- Military.com
First woman in history takes helm of US nuclear weapons arsenal -- Washington Examiner
How The Top 10 Strongest Militaries Got There May Surprise You -- Cheat Sheet
Protecting Our Warrior Ethos Tomorrow -- U.S. Naval Institute
