Syria ISIS Airstrikes: US State Dept Says Assad Was Advised But No Coordination Made, Syrian Fighters Say Airstrike Will Help Keep Assad Regime Alive (PHOTOS)
Pictures showing an ISIL Command and Control Center in Syria before (L) and after it was struck by bombs dropped by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet are seen in handouts released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) September 23, 2014. Reuters/US Department of Defense/Handout

Russia launched a series of attacks on a prison affiliated to the Al-Qaeda Syrian group that killed around 57 people and injured another 30 on Saturday. However, despite the attack on the terrorist group, the United States claims that only a few of the Russian strikes are actually targeting Islamic State and Moscow is only contributing to the worsening refugee crisis.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that round 21 civilians were killed along with 29 militants and seven detainees following the air strikes on an Al-Nusra Front building prison. The group's religious court was housed in the building. The jail could also be found in the same facility.

"The toll from the Russian raids on the Al-Qaeda-run prison has risen to at least 57 killed and 30 wounded, many in critical condition," explained the Observatory via MSN. The earlier toll was only around 39 people.

However, despite the campaign against the terrorist group, a US official now claims that only a third of Russia's air strikes hit Islamic State positions. Moscow's imprecision is only adding to the refugee crisis as more people flee the region. The official told the press in Brussels that from Moscow's 5,000 air strikes, around 70 percent hit rebels against President Bashar al-Assad instead of supporting initiatives of the US-led collation. Additionally, rescue workers and rights groups also claim that Russia's campaign has killed a lot of civilians in residential and market places. Russia refuted the claims.

"We are not convinced of what the Russian intentions are," Reuters quoted the official who requested not to be identified.

"For a while, very few strikes were going against ISIL and after a lot of public condemnation they turned a number of strikes against ISIL," added the official. He explained that Russia resorted to fewer precision-guided munitions compared to the West and its allies.

"The Russian strikes that are not precise cause me great concern because I think there is an indirect correlation to the refugee flow."

"It is not just the pressure it is putting on NATO and the EU, it is also the humanitarian cost."

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