We are now closing the live blog for today. We'll be back Tracking Islamic State tomorrow morning.
Here are two late items from our news desk:
U.S. Envoy Says Number Of Islamic State Foreign Fighters Dropping
The U.S. special envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants says the group's ranks of foreign fighters have dropped to about 25,000 from a peak of 35,000.
Brett McGurk said on February 23 that the extremist group was under pressure and had cut fighters' salaries by about half.
The comments come as an accord between the United States and Russia to scale back violence in Syria is supposed to start on February 27. The truce does not include the IS group and other terrorist organizations.
McGurk also said the IS group was trying to attract as many foreign fighters to Libya as possible, adding that IS activity in the North African country was particularly concerning to the United States.
Libya has been torn by conflict since the 2011 uprising against dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Armed factions supporting rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi have battled for power while also fighting against Islamist fighters, including many loyal to the IS group.
Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
Kerry: U.S. Considering 'Plan B' In Syria If No Peace
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that Washington is considering a "Plan B" to deal with Syria if Damascus and Moscow are not serious about negotiating a political transition.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 23, Kerry said it would be clear very soon whether Russia was serious about ending the five-year conflict.
"The proof will be in the actions that come in the next days," he said.
The comments come as an accord between the United States and Russia to scale back violence in Syria is supposed to start on February 27.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in Syria, with the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that Islamic State militants have captured the town of Khanaser, cutting a road used to supply government-controlled areas in the northern city of Aleppo.
Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
U.S. convening meeting Feb. 24 on countering IS propaganda
The Obama administration is convening a meeting at the White House on Feb. 24 to discuss efforts to counter IS propaganda, AP reports.
According to AP, the meeting scheduled is set to involve government officials as well as representatives from advertising and social media companies and Silicon Valley and aims to brainstorm ways to counter IS social media propaganda.
UNICEF delivering winter clothes, diapers for children in Moadamiyeh
UNICEF has tweeted that it is now delivering winter clothes and diapers to 8,000 children in the besieged Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh.
UN delivering aid to thousands of Syrians in besieged Damascus suburbs: AP
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said that deliveries are "underway" to help some 20,000 Syrians in Moadamiyeh and another 10,000 in Kfar Batna, The Associated Press reports.
Laerke said by phone this afternoon that the deliveries follow on similar convoys last week to five other besieged towns. He says "these are the first of what we hope will be a series of deliveries to people who have not been reached for a long time."
Russia says it gave U.S. contact numbers for Syria 'hotlines' ahead of ceasefire
The Russian Defense Ministry says that it has given a military attache from the United States Embassy in Moscow the contact details for primary and backup Russian telephone "hotlines" for use during the Syria ceasefire, set to start on Feb. 27.
The ministry said that it is awaiting similar information from the United States.
Russia opens 'reconciliation coordination center' at Hmeymim airbase in Syria
Russia has created a coordination center for the reconciliation of warring parties at the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov has said.
"In accordance with the Russian-American agreement of February 22 on the cessation of hostilities in Syria, a coordination center for the reconciliation of warring parties has been created and has begun to operate at the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Syria for the implementation of a mechanism to monitor compliance with the cease-fire regime," Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov said that the main task of the coordination center is to facilitate the negotiation process between the Syrian authorities and the opposition, with the exception of the IS group, the Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations recognized as such by the Security Council the United Nations.
The center will also help conclude local cease-fire agreements, as well as organizing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Konashenkov said that representatives of opposition groups in Syria who have decided to cease hostilities and begin peace talks may contact the coordination center via a single telephone number that will operate 24 hours a day.
Anyone who approaches the coordination center will be provided maximum assistance in arranging contacts with the Syrian authorities, the Defense Ministry spokesman added.
German killed fighting IS in Syria alongside Kurdish YPG
A German national has been killed in Syria today while fighting against IS militants with the Kurdish YPG militia, a YPG official has told Reuters.
The man, who the YPG say they will not identify until his family has been informed, was killed in the town of al-Shadadi in the northeastern province of Hasaka.
The German man is the seventh Westerner to be killed fighting alongside the YPG in Syria.
UK Foreign Secretary: Judge Assad, Russia on their actions
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has tweeted this about the Syrian ceasefire, which is set to start Feb. 27 and to which the Syrian government has agreed -- albeit with certain provisos, namely that the IS group and the Al-Nusra Front can still be subject to military attacks.
30,000 residents of IS-held Al-Hasakah fled south amid Kurdish-led advances: Syria Direct
Tens of thousands of residents of IS-controlled lands in the southern countryside of Al-Hasakah province have fled south towards neighboring Deir al-Zor in the wake of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) lightning advances, Syria Direct report.
Residents are reportedly heading south, deeper into IS-controlled areas, rather than north, east or west into territory currently controlled by the Kurdish-majority SDF because they say they are afraid of arrests, expulsions and revenge killings, Abdullah al-Ahmad, an activist in Al-Hasakah city, told Syria Direct on Monday.