Russian military clash with Iranian forces in Syria
Two Russian servicemen were injured when the Russian military police stationed in Syria clashed with fighters of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The clash, according to the London-based Al-Araby publication, occurred near the city of Mayadin in the Deir ez-Zor province. The reason for the fighting was the detention of the Russian convoy at the Iranian checkpoint. Two Iranian soldiers were killed in the firefight that followed.
Al-Araby reports that there have already been several clashes between the Russian military police and parts of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Syria. According to the publication, this is the result of the fight for the control of the strategic facilities in Syria.
Al-Araby also mentions the clash in the area of the international airport in Aleppo. The Russians demanded that the Iranians and their allies leave the territory. After the refusal there was an armed fight, which ended only after a Russian military helicopter appeared in the air above the airfield. Several people died as a result of the fight.
The first battalion of the Russian military police, the so-called Chechen battalion, was deployed in Syria in 2016. Its mission was to ensure the rule of law and security of the staff of the Russian Reconciliation Centre, deminers, personnel of mobile hospitals and humanitarian convoys.