WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian generals held a face-to-face meeting this week in an effort to avoid accidental clashes as both sides fight to retake what is left of Islamic State’s territory in Syria, U.S. military officials said on Thursday.

“They had a face-to-face discussion, laid down maps and graphics,” Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, told a Pentagon briefing. He added that it appeared to be the first meeting of its kind.

A U.S. military official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the participants included both U.S. and Russian generals.