Russia is conducting 'asymmetric warfare' in Syria - Hammond

Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond leaves following a televised interview outside the conference hall at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Britain October 4, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Russia is engaged in "classic asymmetric warfare" in Syria by using its military clout to prop up President Bashar al-Assad while saying it is attacking Islamic State militants, Britain's foreign minister said on Sunday.

Russia last week began striking targets in Syria - a dramatic escalation of foreign involvement in the civil war which has been criticised by the West as an attempt to prop up Assad, rather than its purported aim of attacking Islamic State.