The world would be much better if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were still in power, US presidential candidate Donald Trump believes.

"100 percent," Trump answered when asked the question during an interview with CNN on Sunday.

Trump explained that Iraq and Libya would be more sustainable and contribute to a more stable Middle East if the two leaders had not been removed from power.

"I mean, look at Libya. Look at Iraq. Iraq used to be no terrorists. He [Hussein] would kill the terrorists immediately, which is like now it's the Harvard of terrorism," Trump said.

"I'm not saying he was a nice guy, he was a horrible guy, but it was a lot better than it is right now. Right now, Iraq is a training ground for terrorists. Right now Libya, nobody even knows Libya, frankly there is no Iraq and there is no Libya. It's all broken up. They have no control. Nobody knows what's going on," the candidate pointed out.

Earlier, Trump said he liked the Russian actions against the Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist group in Syria.

"I like that Putin is bombing the hell out of ISIL," he said. "Putin has to get rid of ISIL 'cause Putin does not want ISIL coming into Russia."

He also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a better leader than those Washington is supposed to be backing. According to Trump, without Assad in power Syria would collapse and turn into another Iraq or Libya.

The situation has been unstable in Iraq since Hussein was forcefully pushed out of power in 2003, shortly after the US invasion in the country. The situation aggravated in 2014 after the Islamic State terrorist group seized large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Libya is currently facing its worst wave of violence since the beginning of a civil war prompted by the 2011 overthrow of long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi.