Trump claims Clinton would start WW3 in Syria if elected

Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Hillary Clinton's foreign policy, and claimed that she would lead the US to a third world war if she is elected president in less than two weeks.

Clinton has a substantial lead in several polls in the country, but Trump has been campaigning ferociously in an attempt to close the gap before November 8.

The Republican candidate said that Clinton's plans on how to negotiate the complex Syrian conflict would lead to war with Russia.

"She has no plan for Syria, and with her you'll end up with World War Three. She doesn't know what she's doing," Trump told Reuters in an interview.

"You're not fighting Syria any more, you're fighting Syria, Russia and Iran. What we should do is focus on ISIS," he added.

In the interview, Trump continually focused on defeating Islamic State rather than a strategy on how to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Clinton's campaign responded by accusing the New York businessman of cosying up to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Putin has been roundly criticised by international organisations for sanctioning Russian airstrikes to aid Bashar al-Assad's forces.

"Once again, he is parroting Putin's talking points and playing to Americans' fears, all while refusing to lay out any plans of his own for defeating ISIS or alleviating humanitarian suffering in Syria," said Clinton spokesman Jesse Lehrich in a statement.