West may use ISIS as pretext to bomb Syrian govt forces - Russian Envoy

Militant Islamist fighters parade on military vehicles along the streets of Syria's Raqqa province June 30, 2014. (Reuters/Stringer)

If the West bombs Islamic State militants in Syria without consulting Damascus, the anti-ISIS alliance may use the occasion to launch airstrikes against President Bashar Assad’s forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“There are reasons to suspect that air strikes on Syrian territory may target not only areas controlled by Islamic State militants, but the government troops may also be attacked on the quiet to weaken the positions of Bashar Assad’s army,” Lavrov said Tuesday.