Providing some of the first insight into coordination between US and Russian forces in Syria, the Pentagon has revealed it provides Russia with broad areas of operation in which US special forces are located, to avoid them being hit during Russian airstrikes.
Pentagon officials say that Russia has given them assurances that so long as the US continues to keep them appraised of where the troops are operating, Russia will refrain from striking them. Russia has also provided areas they want the US not to hit.
The US is only believed to have an extremely limited number of ground troops in Syria at this point, and indications are they are in Hasakeh Province, embedded with the Kurdish YPG. Reports have also suggested they are involved in the conversion of an air field under Kurdish control to accept larger planes, for arms shipments.
This sort of coordination sets a precedent for further information sharing as the US coalition increases ground troops, with both Turkey and Saudi Arabia suggesting full-scale ground invasions could be happening at some point in the future.