(Reuters) -- Associates of Russian military contractors fighting alongside government forces in Syria have said there were large-scale casualties among the contractors when U.S.-led coalition forces clashed with pro-government forces in Syria's Deir ezzor province on Feb. 7 
 

(Photo: September 15, 2017, A Russian soldiers standing guard in a central street in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor, as locals pass by. DOMINIQUE DERDA/FRANCE2/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)