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Washington (CNN) -- The United States is collecting information on possible war crimes by Syrian security forces amid a violent crackdown on opposition protesters, a senior Obama administration official said Friday.

In a telephone briefing with reporters, the official said the United States is "looking into ... whether there are grounds here for charges related to war crimes," and whether referrals to the International Criminal Court may be appropriate.

The comments come as the White House faces pressure from critics who say the Obama administration has been slow to respond to the Syrian government's violence against pro-democracy demonstrators.