register<\/a><\/h3>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Wall Street Journal Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say Incident shows how the country is using private groups to avoid deploying uniform troops, they say ENLARGE… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[109,139,59],"class_list":["post-20145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-casualties","category-russia","tag-casualties","tag-russia","tag-syria"],"yoast_head":"\nUp to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Wall Street Journal Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say Incident shows how the country is using private groups to avoid deploying uniform troops, they say ENLARGE… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\"},\"headline\":\"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1102,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/si.wsj.net\\\/public\\\/resources\\\/images\\\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Casualties\",\"Russia\",\"Syria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Casualties\",\"Russia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/\",\"name\":\"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/si.wsj.net\\\/public\\\/resources\\\/images\\\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/si.wsj.net\\\/public\\\/resources\\\/images\\\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/si.wsj.net\\\/public\\\/resources\\\/images\\\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"description\":\"Unpacking the Private Military Complex\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\",\"name\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","og_description":"The Wall Street Journal Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say Incident shows how the country is using private groups to avoid deploying uniform troops, they say ENLARGE… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/","og_site_name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","article_published_time":"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1"},"headline":"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say","datePublished":"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/"},"wordCount":1102,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg","keywords":["Casualties","Russia","Syria"],"articleSection":["Casualties","Russia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/","name":"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-19T22:58:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/si.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/BN-LT980_RUSWAR_J_20151218121338.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/","name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","description":"Unpacking the Private Military Complex","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1","name":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/author\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phczRl-5eV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}