Barring any major events, that concludes our live-blogging of Islamic State for Thursday, December 3. Check back here tomorrow for more of our ongoing coverage.
Russia is expanding a second Syrian air base, our news desk reports:
Russia is expanding an air base in Homs Province in western Syria to accommodate its fighter jets, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.
The monitoring group said on December 3 that the Russians were adding fortifications and developing runways at the Shayrat air base, about 40 kilometers southeast of Homs city, in a sign they intend to use it as their second air base in the country.
The work under way could signal Moscow's intention to step up air strikes in the country's central region where the Islamic State group is active, it said.
A U.S. official said the United States believes Russia had been moving equipment to the Shayrat base and some of the equipment is already operational.
Russia has been conducting air strikes in Syria since September 30, using the Syrian government's Basel al-Assad air base in the coastal province of Latakia. Su-24 bombers and helicopters take off daily from that base. (Reuters, AP)
Seven Tajiks jailed for raising an IS banner, our Tajik Service reports:
Seven residents of Tajikistan's southwestern Shahrtuz district have been jailed for raising the Islamic State (IS) extremist organization's flag in a public place.
The Khatlon regional court's judge, Zubaidullo Mahmudzoda, told RFE/RL on December 4 that the seven men, three of whom are younger than 18, had been found guilty on December 1 of publicly calling to overthrow the government and recruiting people to illegally fight abroad.
They were sentenced to prison terms between seven and 27 years in jail the same day.
The men were arrested in August after they raised a black flag looking similar to the one known as the IS flag in the center of the district's capital, Shahrtuz.
Tajik authorities have said that some 500 Tajik nationals are fighting alongside IS militants in Syria and Iraq.
AFP is reporting that the first of the Paris bars attacked during the November 13 terrorist attacks in the French capital is reopening.
Thailand gets Russian warning of IS threat, our news desk reports:
Police in Thailand have confirmed they are searching for Syrian terrorist suspects following a tip from Moscow.
A Thai police memo was leaked earlier asking officers to follow up on information from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that 10 Syrians who may be linked to the Islamic State (IS) group could stage attacks in Thailand on targets associated with Russia and other foes of the militants.
Police on December 4 confirmed the memo was genuine and said that authorities were conducting searches to track down the 10 suspects.
The Thai capital was the target of a terrorist bombing in August that killed 20 people, but it was apparently unrelated to IS.
There have been few signs of IS activity in Thailand, though it actively recruits volunteers from its Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia. (AP, dpa)
Poll: Majority Of Russians Support Moscow's Actions In Syria
The majority of Russians support their government's actions in Syria, a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) has found, TASS reports.
The poll found that 62 percent of Russians supported their government's chosen course of action in Syria. More men than women (73 percent of men compared to 54 percent of women) were in favor.
Some 27 percent of those polled did not completely support the actions of their government in Syria, with 16 percent of those saying Russia should "slow down" and 11 per cent saying that Russia should not be involved in the Syrian conflict.
Russia's Life News, a pro-Kremlin news site with ties to the country's security services, reports that it has been made aware of the identity of the IS militant who beheaded a Russian "spy" in Raqqa in a video shared earlier this week.
Life News says that the man is 28-year-old Anatoly Zemlyanka, who is on the FSB's wanted list.
Zemlyanka is from Noyabrsk, the largest city in Russia's Nenets Autonomous Okrug in West Siberia.
The IS militant who appeared in the beheading video was not wearing a mask to cover his identity, suggesting that he is aware he is on a wanted list.
Putin's Spokesman 'Unaware' Of Contact Between Russia, U.K. Over Syria Ops
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that he is not aware of any contacts between Russia and the United Kingdom since Britain began air strikes against IS in Syria earlier this week, the BBC tweets.
RIA Novosti has more on Peskov's comments to reporters this morning.
"No, at the political level, there have not yet been any contacts," Peskov said, adding that he was also not aware of any contacts between the two countries' militaries regarding operations in Syria.
"I am unaware of any contacts, but at the same time you should ask our military. But I have not heard anything about any contacts between the Russian and British militaries," Putin's spokesman said.
Putin's spokesman Peskov declined to comment on a question from the BBC this morning regarding whether Russia is building a second base in Syria.
Activists have reported that Russia is expanding runways at an existing base in Syria's Homs province but this remains unconfirmed.