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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).

17:05 19.2.2016

17:03 19.2.2016

Red Cross alarmed at situation in Syria's Aleppo: AFP

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that it is deeply alarmed by the situation in Syria's Aleppo province, where heavy fighting between Russia backed government forces and rebels has displaced tens of thousands of people.

According to AFP, the ICRC said that it was "deeply alarmed by the situation in the Aleppo region, where fighting is intensifying, hospitals and health workers have been targeted, people have no water or electricity and more than 70,000 have now fled their homes."

16:59 19.2.2016

Clashes erupt between Iraqi tribesmen, Islamic State group in Fallujah

There have been deadly clashes between Sunni Arab tribesmen and Islamic State militants inside the IS stronghold of Fallujah today, AFP reports.

Fallujah is one of two Iraqi cities controlled by the IS group. Conditions inside Fallujah are reportedly dire, with Anbar governor Sohaib al-Rawi saying that the situation there had reached a "state of famine."

16:25 19.2.2016

Syrian medics accuse Russian pilots of targeting hospitals: FT

Syrian doctors say that Syria's hospitals are coldly selected targets of the campaign by Russia to help Syrian president Assad recapture rebel territory in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, the Financial Times has reported.

Syrian medics have blamed Russia for airstrikes earlier this week that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Syria's northern province of Idlib. At least 25 people died in the attack on February 15.

16:18 19.2.2016

U.S. officials say Libya strikes likely killed senior Tunisian militant

American airstrikes on a Islamic State camp in Sabratha, Libya have "likely" killed a senior Tunisian extremist, Noureddine Chouchane, U.S. officials say.

Chouchane has been linked to two attacks that took place in Tunisia last year.

16:08 19.2.2016

Moscow maintaining contact with Damascus, Syrian opposition including Kurds

Moscow is maintaining contact with Damascus and the Syrian opposition, including Syrian Kurds, and meetings are taking place almost daily, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said, RIA Novosti reports.

But who exactly did Bogdanov mean by the Syrian opposition?

The only opposition figure Bogdanov mentioned was Randa Kassis, President of the Movement of the Pluralistic Society.

In emphasizing that the Kurds remember of the Syrian opposition, Bogdanov was contradicting assertions by Turkey that the Syrian Kurds could only participate in Syria peace talks on the side of the Syrian government.

16:02 19.2.2016

German man indicted for posing with severed heads in Syria

A German man has been indicted for posing for photos with severed heads in Syria.

Federal prosecutors said the man, Aria L., 21, was charged with committing a war crime. The defendant allegedly traveled to Syria in early 2014 with the intention of joining Islamic extremist militias.

15:05 19.2.2016

IS has used at least 89 children in suicide missions: Washington Post

There have been at least 89 cases over the past year in which the Islamic State group have employed children or teenagers in suicide missions, according to new research that indicates the terrorist group is sending youths to their deaths in greater and greater numbers, the Washington Post reports.

14:52 19.2.2016

Turkey's Erdogan says Syrian Kurds used U.S. weapons on civilians

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said U.S.-supplied weapons had been used against civilians by the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia group that Ankara blames for a deadly suicide bombing.

Erdogan said he would talk to President Barack Obama about it later on Feb. 19, Reuters report.

14:38 19.2.2016

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