A Syrian rebel group claims that it has ambushed and killed a group of Russian mercenaries who may have been working for a Chinese security contractor. The jihadist fighters from an Al Qaeda affiliate “Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS)” claim to have killed the mercenaries in a battle near Homs. At least one of the mercenaries, however, has been videotaped alive and well, and living back in Russia.
The mercenaries reportedly worked for the Slavonic Corps, a contractor registered in Hong Kong that operates, “in high risk areas, in particular in areas of military actions where actions of the Company itself and of its employees are rather deterrent than attacking so they allow some preventive options. These measures should be necessarily interpreted in favor of primary military forces of the country, according to the general order.” According to documents published below, the Slavonic Corps had signed an agreements with the Moran Security Group, which is, “an international group of companies offering premier security, transportation, medical, rescue, and consulting services. ”
Below is a translation from an article published on Fontanka, one of the most popular and most respected newspapers from St. Petersburg. We are also in the process of translating another article published by Fontanka. It says that the mercenary group was working with the head of Moran Security Group, FSB lieutenant colonel in the reserve Vyacheslav Kalashnikov. The FSB, therefore, were aware that the group was sending Russian fighters to Syria. However, the mercenary group was shut down and several mercenaries were arrested upon their return to Russia.