A woman rests near rubble in the Syrian town of Darat Izza in Aleppo Province on February 28.

Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State

February 29, 2016 04:29 CET

Follow all of the latest developments as they happen.

Latest News For February 29

-- The United States Army's elite Delta Force is on the verge of beginning operations to target, capture or kill top IS operatives in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN.

-- Syrian government forces have regained control of a road used by the army to access Aleppo, after making advances against Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and state television reported.

-- Authorities in Iraq say the death toll from a double bombing at a market in Baghdad’s Shi’ite neighborhood of Sadr City rose to 73 on February 29 after several critically wounded victims died overnight.

-- Tajik media are reporting that a woman known to be the second wife of Gulmurod Halimov, the fugitive Tajik colonel who defected to the IS group, has left for Syria along with the couple's four young children.

-- The UN is poised to begin delivering aid to people living in besieged areas of Syria, making use of a truce brokered by the United States and Russia. The first deliveries are planned for Feb. 29, with aid due to reach about 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas over the next five days.

-- A truce negotiated between Syrian rebels and the government has caused a dramatic decrease in airstrikes around rebel-held territory, but there were few celebrations, with many residents suspecting a trick, CNN report.

* NOTE: Live blog posts are time-stamped according to Central European Time (CET).

11:37 12.1.2016

A TV report has said that a suicide bomber was responsible for the blast this morning in Istanbul, AP are reporting.

11:34 12.1.2016

Two hours after the blast in Turkey's Sultanahmet district, Wall Street Journal reporter Ayla Albayrak says that tourists are still on the streets.

11:33 12.1.2016

Istanbul's Blue Mosque has been completely closed off, says freelance journalist Zia Weise.

11:32 12.1.2016

Freelance journalist Zia Weise has posted this photo taken from a rooftop looking out toward Istanbul's Blue Mosque.

11:30 12.1.2016

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala has arrived at the Prime Minister's residence in order to brief Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on the attack in Sultanahmet, the state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

11:25 12.1.2016

German and Norwegian tourists are among those killed in the blast this morning at Istanbul's main tourist district, Euronews is reporting, saying that the victims were part of a tour group.

11:23 12.1.2016

CNN Turk is still reporting on the explosion in Istanbul despite a media blackout.

According to CNN Turk, police are focussing on the possibility that a suicide bomber was responsible for the blast.

11:21 12.1.2016

Another photo from Istanbul's Sultanahmet district, the site of this morning's explosion.

11:18 12.1.2016

The explosion in Istanbul occurred at about 10:20 a.m. local time this morning in Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul near the Obelisk of Theodosius, Hurriyet reports.

The explosion was heard in many of Istanbul's districts.

So far, reports say that ten people have been killed and 15 more injured.

11:14 12.1.2016

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey has tweeted to say that it is closely following the reports of the explosion in Istanbul.

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Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State