U.S. bombings of Islamic State targets inside Syria are not strengthening the regime of strongman Bashar Assad, who launched his own simultaneous bombing campaign to snuff out rebel opposition, a top White House national security adviser said Sunday.

The use of air power and other resources from the United States and other allies, coupled with ground forces from moderate opposition rebel groups in Syria, is the way to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISIL, Tony Blinken, White House deputy national security adviser, said on “Fox News Sunday.”