Pentagon says Russian forces at fault for sideswiping U.S. troops and injuring four in Syria

The Pentagon on Thursday rebuffed claims from Moscow that U.S. troops are to blame for an incident that left them injured after a Russian military vehicle sideswiped theirs in Syria.

“On Tuesday, Russian forces breached our deconfliction arrangement in Syria and injured U.S. service members with their deliberately provocative and aggressive behavior," Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Aug. 27. "Our military deconflicts operations in time and space with Russian forces in Syria to protect the force and mitigate risk of unintended escalation."

The American troops afterwards showed signs of concussion, according to reports.

The incident occurred while vehicles from both countries were transiting a field near Dayrick, in northeast Syria. As depicted in videos on social media, multiple fast-moving vehicles - flying the flags of their respective nations - barreled neck-and-neck atop the rutted field. At one point, a Russian vehicle appeared to ram the American. The mixed convoy continued forward without stopping.

Two Russian helicopters flew low overhead at the time, with one reportedly some 70 feet from the Americans' mine resistant armored vehicle.

The Russian Ministry of Defense cast blame on the Americans, claiming that Russian military officials had alerted the U.S.-led coalition that a military police convoy would travel the route near Dayrick.

"Despite that, in violation of the existing agreements, the U.S. troops attempted to block the Russian patrol," the ministry said in a statement. "In response to that, the Russian military police took the necessary measures to prevent an incident and to continue the fulfillment of their task."

The American forces behaved properly, the Pentagon countered.

"We commend our personnel on the ground for deescalating this unfortunate encounter through professionalism and restraint, which are hallmarks of the U.S. military," Hoffman said. 

"We have advised the Russians that their behavior was dangerous and unacceptable. We expect a return to routine and professional deconfliction in Syria and reserve the right to defend our forces vigorously whenever their safety is put at risk.”