Orient Net, FEBRUARY 16, 2018— The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Feb. 15, five Russian nationals ‘could have been killed’ in the US-led coalition’s strike in Syria’s Deir Ezzor, but their citizenship has yet to be verified, according to Sputnik.

“According to preliminary data, as a result of the armed conflict, the reasons for which are now being clarified, five people, presumably Russian citizens, could have been killed. There are also injured people, but all this requires verification — in particular, first of all, their citizenship — whether they are all citizens of Russia or other countries. I would like to stress once again that we are not talking about Russian servicemen,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

At the time of the attack in Deir Ezzor last Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry insisted it had no servicemen in the eastern province of Syria.

More than 200 contract fighters, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Assad, died in a failed attack on a base held by US and SDF in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, according to Bloomberg.

Reuters reported the names of at least two Russian men fighting informally with pro-Assad forces who were killed in the incident in Deir Ezzor province, citing interviews with their associates. It said their associates also confirmed that “dozens” of other Russian fighters lost their lives in the same fighting on Feb. 7.

Russian law officially bans mercenary service. Yet it has been widely reported that Wagner and other shadowy private military groups operating out of Russia have sent soldiers to fight abroad in several conflicts.

The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria said in a statement, it conducted air and artillery strikes against pro-regime forces in Syria on Feb. 7, killing over 100 pro-regime fighters.