RUSSIA hit back yesterday at claims that it deliberately targeted US proxy forces in Syria, saying the Pentagon had refused to reveal their location.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said the target bombed by the Russian air force in at-Tanf was almost 200 miles from US-identified forces covered by the February ceasefire deal.

“The target that was bombed was situated more than 300km away from the territories that were declared by the US as positions of opposition forces participating in the cessation of hostilities agreement,” he said.

Gen Konashenkov said the air force had informed the US-led coalition against Islamic State (Isis) before Friday’s raid on at-Tanf, near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

At-Tanf is where British SAS troops have reportedly been covertly aiding the New Syrian Army (NSA) — the latest rebranding of US proxy forces — despite there having been no debate in Parliament or statement from Downing Street.

The Pentagon claimed on Saturday that it had repeatedly warned Russia against bombing the position.

Newspaper reports said two US jet fighters were scrambled to patrol the area, but when they returned to base to refuel the Russian jets returned to complete their mission.

The US claimed the attack killed two NSA members and wounded 18.

With Russia increasingly exasperated at US failure to force its favoured insurgent groups to separate themselves from al-Qaida’s Syrian branch the Nusra Front, the raid may have been a shot across Washington’s bows.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned: “If you cannot separate your forces from al-Qaida and differentiate and designate exclusively ‘moderate’ zones, we cannot do so either.”

On Saturday, Nusra and its Western-backed Free Syrian Army and Ahrar ash-Sham allies captured the villages of Zeitan and Khalsa, south-west of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, after extremely bloody fighting.

The same day, Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu visited Syria to inspect his forces’ base at Hemeimeem and discuss military co-operation with President Bashar al-Assad.

In a separate development, Kurdish YPG militiamen fought their way into the Isis-held town of Manbij, east of Aleppo, yesterday after attacking from three sides, while the Syrian Army resumed its push towards Tabqah to the south-east.