Syrian government troops capture southern town of Atman: state media
Syrian state media is reporting that government troops and allied militias have captured the southern town of Atman from rebels.
Atman is in the southern province of Daraa and is immediately north of Daraa city. Click here to see the location of Atman on Google maps.
The pro-government Syria24 Facebook page posted this photo of Atman under government control.
Pro-government Twitter user Ivan Sidorenko posted these photos purportedly taken this morning inside Atman.
Russia hasn't abandoned political settlement in Syria: Peskov
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that suggestions that Russia had abandoned a political and diplomatic resolution to the Syrian crisis in favor of military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were incorrect.
"We consider this opinion as incorrect, we cannot agree with it. Russia has been consistently making efforts in line with the common international work towards a peaceful settlement, political settlement of the situation in Syria. At the same time, Russia is supporting the legitimate leadership in Syria in the war against terror and terror groups and at the same time, of course, we are making efforts towards the political-diplomatic track," Peskov said in his daily press briefing this morning.
Kremlin monitoring Saudi plans for ground troops in Syria: Peskov
The Kremlin is monitoring the situation after reports that Saudi Arabia has expressed willingness to send ground troops to Syria to fight IS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"We are carefully monitoring the situation, observing. But I cannot say anything definite. You should address this question to the Defense Ministry," Peskov said.
Turkey is not preparing to invade Syria: Prime Minister's office
Turkish forces are not preparing to invade Syria, a source within the Turkish Prime Minister's office has told CNN.
The Russian Defense Ministry made the claim that Turkey was carrying out activities on the Syrian border that could be evidence of a planned invasion.
"Simply [Russia] are diverting attention from their attacks on civilians as a country already invading Syria," the source told CNN.
"Turkey has all the rights to take any measures to protect its own security."
Parents of British man alleged to have joined IS in Iraq say they were arrested
Jack and Sally Letts, the parents of a British man who reportedly traveled to Iraq to join the IS group, have told a British TV channel that they were arrested by police after sending their son food and new glasses.
Jack Letts, 20, was dubbed "Jihadi Jack" by some British media outlets after some reported that he had traveled to join IS. His parents say that Jack had traveled to the region for humanitarian purposes and that he had converted to Islam.
The BBC reports that the Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrests.
A spokesman said: "A 55-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman from Oxford, were arrested on suspicious of sending money to Syria which could be used for terrorism purposes... and were bailed until 17 February."
Number of IS militants in Iraq and Syria has fallen: White House
The number of militants fighting alongside the IS group in Iraq and Syria has fallen from around 31,000 to about 25,000, according to a U.S. intelligence report revealed by the White House.
The report says that the almost 20 percent decrease is explained by battlefield casualties and desertions.
We are now closing the live blog for today. Join us again tomorrow for all the latest news concerning Islamic State.
Woman who tipped off police about Paris attacker Abaaoud talks about his plans for more attacks
A woman who is in hiding and under police protection after her phone tip-off helped police track down and kill Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, has talked to the media for the first time.
The woman, whose identity has been changed for security purposes and who was identified in the French media only as "Sonia," contacted a French radio station to talk about the events that led police to Abaaoud in a Saint Denis apartment, where he was killed.
According to Le Figaro, Sonia says she was with Abaaoud's cousin, Hasna Ait Boulahcen, when her friend received a phone call from Belgium, and asked to find a car to go and get a person who needed accommodation.
The two women went to Aubervilliers in the Saint-Denis area of northern Paris. Hasna had been instructed to shout out a "special code," "1010" when she got to the meeting place, to signal her presence.
Sonia said that she saw a man emerge from a bush, wearing a sunhat, orange sneakers and a bomber jacket. Sonia said he "looked like a Romanian...he was smiling, he did not look like a terrorist."
When Sonia recognized the man as Abaaoud, she asked him, "Mister, did you take part in the November 13 events" and he told her he had. "The cafe terraces, that was me," he said.
"But you have killed people, you have killed innocent people," Sonia told him. She says Abaaoud replied that "no, they were not innocent, we must look is what is happening in Syria."
Abaaoud told the woman he was proud of what he had done.
Sonia says that Abaaoud boasted that he had returned to France from Syria "without official papers" and accompanied by "Syrians, Iraqis, French, Germans, English." About 90 people came back to France with him, Abaaoud said.
Abaaoud talked to Sonia about his other planned attacks. Some had been failures, he said, and he planned to ensure that there would be no more failures.
Abaaoud talked about the targets for the next attacks: a nursery in the La Defense business district, a police station and a shopping mall.
He instructed his cousin Hasna to buy him clothes and find him a hideout.
Sonia tried to reason with Hasna, telling her to call the police. But Hasna refused.
"It's my cousin, he will finish his work and then he will leave," Hasna said.
So Sonia called the number provided by French police for people with information about the attacks.
Abaaoud was killed on November 18 when police raided the hideout in Saint Denis. Hasna Ait Boulahcen was also killed.
Sonia told the French media that she feels abandoned by the authorities and has not been offered police protection.
Some responses to today's Syria donors' conference in London:
Analyst Aaron Stein has this to say about reports of a build-up of Syrian refugees trying to cross into Turkey at Kilis.
The situation has been ongoing for weeks, according to Stein.