WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military officer tells a Senate committee the Obama administration is deliberating whether to use military power in Syria, where a civil war entering its third year has killed almost 93,000 people.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey says during congressional testimony Thursday that he has provided President Barack Obama with options for the use of force in Syria.

Dempsey used the term “kinetic strikes,” and added the “issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government.”

But Dempsey did not provide additional details. He says the decision on whether to engage militarily is one for U.S. elected officials to make.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is considering Dempsey’s nomination for a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.