US envoy: Russian air strikes boost ISIS

The US envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition said on Wednesday that Russian airstrikes in Syria are boosting the militant group because of the toll they are taking on opposition fighters, Reuters reported.

"What Russia’s doing is directly enabling ISIL," the envoy, Brett McGurk, told a hearing of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, using an acronym for ISIS.

He said Russia is strengthening the Assad regime, worsening a humanitarian crisis and fueling terrorism, Daily Sabah reported.

He left the hearing for a flight to Germany, where world powers are meeting on Thursday to try to revive the first effort in two years to negotiate an end to the war in Syria after it faltered last week.

Opposition groups have been urging US President Barack Obama to do more to stop Russian bombing raids that have left them on the verge of collapse ahead of the talks.

McGurk said Washington is committed to securing a ceasefire, but needs to consider options in case the diplomatic push falls short, AFP reported.

Committee members said they wanted Washington to do more.

"These gains have been too slow to come and too limited," US Representative Ed Royce, the panel’s Republican chairman, said.

He did not rule out US aid airdrops to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Syria. "We’re looking at all options on the humanitarian side," McGurk said, but called the developments "totally unacceptable."