US diplomats: Russian strikes hit Syrian rebels, civilians
Two top US diplomats said Wednesday that 85 to 90 percent of Russian air strikes in Syria have killed moderate opposition forces and civilians and that Moscow's intervention has done little to stop Islamic State militants.
The State Department officials testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee where both Democratic and Republican members maintained that the current US. policy in Syria is too limited.
The hearing follows the White House's announcement last week that it was deploying as many as 50 special operations forces to Syria and Secretary of State John Kerry's recent meetings in Vienna to chart a political transition to the conflict, which has killed 225,000 Syrians and caused more than 4 million to become refugees.
