U.S. DRONE DESTROYS RUSSIAN TANK

   “The Kremlin – seeking to play down its involvement in the fighting in Syria and seemingly hoping to avoid escalating tensions with the United States – has sidestepped questions about the episode,” the New York Times wrote of Sunday’s drone strike on a Russian-made tank.
   The Russians claim a handful of Russian “paramilitary contractors” were killed in the battle, while the Syrian government says U.S. troops and their allies killed almost a hundred Russians. CNN identified several of the slain Russians on Tuesday; they were portrayed as a mixture of mercenaries and “ultranationalists.”
   CBS News notes that whatever their motivations for fighting in Syria, the casualties from last week’s battle constitute the first Russians killed by U.S. airstrikes in Syria. CBS also notes the interesting fact that some Turkish forces were present at the SDF headquarters alongside the Americans, even as tensions between the U.S. and Turkey are mounting near the Turkish border.