Congress delaying US aid to Syrian rebels

Congressional committees are holding up a plan to send US weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad because of fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist militants, five US national security sources said.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees have expressed reservations behind closed doors at the effort by President Barack Obama's administration to support the insurgents by sending them military hardware. (Reuters)