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

Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State

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).

16:57 18.1.2016

A Belgian man arrested in Morocco on suspicion of having links to the men who carried out the November 13 Paris attacks was detained on January 15 in the town of Mohammedia near Casablanca, the BBC reports.

The Moroccan authorities did not give his name but gave his initials in Arabic, which could be transliterated as J.A. or G.A..

16:39 18.1.2016

Reports Of IS Abductions In Deir Al-Zor Exaggerated

Syria Direct has looked into the reports that IS militants abducted more than 400 people from al-Baghiliya, a suburb of the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor.

Pro-opposition journalist Abu Zeid Abdullah told Syria Direct that the reports were not true.

Abdullah says that some 20 families, numbering about 60 people, who tried to escape the fighting were captured and sent to Raqqa, IS's Syrian stronghold.

16:36 18.1.2016

Damascus Says Turkey, Saudi Arabia Responsible For IS 'Massacre' In Deir Al-Zor

The Syrian government has accused Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of funding and supporting "armed terrorist groups" in Syria and said that an alleged "massacre" in the eastern Syrian town of Deir al-Zor was "a continuation of a series of barbaric and methodical terrorist acts" by such groups.

In a letter sent today to the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council, Syria's Foreign Ministry said that IS "hordes" had killed over 280 people in al-Baghiliya and abducted 400 more people.

However, there have been conflicting reports about mass casualties and abductions in the January 16 attack by the IS group on Deir al-Zor, most of which is under IS control.

Syrian state media said that hundreds of people had been killed in an attack on the village of al-Baghiliya on the northwestern outskirts of the city.

But rebel activists say there has been no "massacre" or large-scale abductions. The opposition DeirEzzor24 news website said that there is "no evidence" that IS carried out a mass killing in al-Baghaliya.

16:10 18.1.2016

Belgian Directly Linked To Paris Attacks Arrested In Morocco

ITV News has a couple more details about the breaking story that a Belgian man with direct links to the November 13 attacks in Paris has been arrested in Morocco.

According to ITV, the Moroccan Interior Ministry said the man is a Belgian national of Moroccan descent. The Ministry have only disclosed an initial in Arabic and said the suspect allegedly fought with the Al Nusra Front -- Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate -- in Syria before joining the IS group.

16:07 18.1.2016

The U.S.-led coalition has released information on its latest strikes against the IS group in Iraq and Syria.

16:05 18.1.2016

A Belgian man with "direct links" to those involved in the November 13 attacks in Paris has been arrested in Morocco, AFP is reporting.

The IS group claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

15:27 18.1.2016

Clashes Between IS, Libyan Army In Benghazi

Al Wasat news and other sources are reporting clashes between IS militants and the Libyan army in Benghazi in the early hours of this morning.

15:25 18.1.2016

This map by Libya's Al Wasat news shows where the IS group is active in the country.

The militants control over 150 miles of coastline around Sirte and has advanced eastwards to take Bin Jawad to the north west of the oil terminal of Sidra.

15:18 18.1.2016

Ramadi A 'Ghost Town' After Battle To Retake It From IS

Although the Iraqi military has retaken the town of Ramadi in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the town is now deserted, with buildings flattened by air strikes and homes and stores abandoned by residents.

Most of Ramadi's half a million strong population has fled and is living in refugee camps, while their homes have been booby trapped by IS militants as they retreated.

15:15 18.1.2016

IS Attacks On Libya's Oil Terminals Raises Risk For Oil Sector

The recent attacks by the IS group on Libya's "oil crescent" underscores the threat to the country's oil industry, Reuters reports.

IS has now retreated -- for now -- from the oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Sidra after three days of attacks, but oil infrastructure is still vulnerable.

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