Western airstrikes haven't weakened IS: Syrian minister

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem has said that the US-led airstrikes have failed to weaken the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group in Syria and called for tighter border controls by Turkey to tackle the militants.

"All the indications say that (the IS) today, after two months of coalition air strikes, is not weaker," al-Moualem said in an interview with the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV Friday, which was cited by Aljazeera in a report.

The IS last June proclaimed a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Iraq and Syria. The group has been named a terrorist organisation by the UN and the European Union (EU).

The US-led alliance started attacking IS targets in Syria in September as part of a wider effort to destroy the Al Qaeda offshoot that has seized large areas of the country and neighbouring Iraq.

The Syrian government has said that it was willing to join the fight against the IS, but the US refuses to deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who, it says, has lost legitimacy and must leave power.

Referring to the foreign fighters who have allegedly crossed into Syria from Turkey, al-Moualem said: "If the (UN) Security Council and Washington do not force Turkey to control its borders then all of this action will not eliminate (the IS)."

Turkey, which has a 900-km border with Syria, has strongly denied accusations that it has supported fighters in its enthusiasm to help Syrian rebels topple Assad.

Al-Moualem said Turkish calls for the establishment of a no-fly zone in northern Syria would lead to the partition of the country, adding that Turkey had designs on Syrian territory.

Turkey has argued that a no-fly zone would help to create safe areas in Syria, allowing Syrian refugees in Turkey to be repatriated.

However, Turkey's idea has received a cold reception from its allies. A NATO general had said this week that the idea was not being considered.

The Syrian civil war, which began three-and-a-half years ago as an uprising against Assad's regime has killed an estimated 200,000 people, with the UN and rights groups repeatedly urging Syria to refrain from targeting civilian areas.