NATO pledge to hit IS harder -- which could include in Libya
Military action against the IS group in Libya will be on the agenda when 45 Defense Ministers meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels later today, Sky News reports.
IS video appears to show four-year-old British child blowing up 'spies'
A grisly new IS killing video appears to show a British child being made to blow up three hostages whom IS alleged were British spies.
The child in the video looks like Isa Dare, a four-year-old boy whose mother Grace Dare has joined the IS group in Syria.
The boy is shown appearing to press a button on a detonator after which a car containing three IS hostages explodes.
Before he presses the detonator, the child is filmed shouting about "infidels" and pointing his finger before the three orange-clad prisoners are shown tied up in the car.
Before the execution-style killing the three prisoners are filmed giving "confessions" about being spies.
An adult IS militant with a British accent gives a speech addressed to the British Prime Minister David Cameron, in which he says that the hostages in the car are spies.
"Firstly, when you sent your spies to Syria and when you authorized for your men, thousands of miles away, to push a button to kill our brothers who lived in the West," the militant says, according to The Independent.
"So today, we're going to kill your spies the same way they helped you kill our brothers"
The adult militant then gestures to the child, who presses the button on the detonator.
Isa Dare has appeared in a previous IS killing video last month in which he talked of killing non-believers. His grandfather, Henry Dare, recognized the child as his grandson.
Isa's mother, Grace Dare, who is a convert to Islam and was radicalized in London tweeted in 2014 that she wanted to become the first woman to "kill a UK or US terrorist."
Russia ready to discuss Syria cease fire: Deputy FM
Russia is ready to discuss the issue of a cease fire in Syria at the Munich conference from Feb. 12-14, deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov has said.
"We are going toward this. We are ready to discuss the question of the modalities of a cease fire," Gatilov told reporters, commenting on media reports that Russia had proposed a cease fire from March 1.
However, Washington officials speaking anonymously have said that a March 1 ceasefire proposal reportedly sent by Russia to the United States was an attempt by Russia to give itself and the Syrian government three more weeks to crush moderate rebel groups.
Saudi-backed Syrian opposition disrupted Geneva peace talks: Russian Deputy FM
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition faction High Negotiations Committee (HNC) disrupted the peace talks in Geneva, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has said.
Gatilov added that the Syrian government delegation was ready to resume negotiations.
"Whoever disrupted the talks, let them answer. The Riyadh group disrupted the talks. So all questions [should go] to them. The government [in Damascus] is ready as far as I know," Gatilov said.
Russia's Defense Ministry is tweeting about its air strikes in Syria. The ministry says that it is working with "partners" to obtain credible intelligence about targets.
The ministry also says that it only carries out strikes after eliminating risks of harm to civilians. Opposition groups, NGOs including Medicins Sans Frontieres and activist groups have said that Russian air strikes have led to a high number of civilian casualties.
Syrian opposition 'sharing recon' with Russian air force, Syrian gov't
Russia's Defense Ministry says that some "units of the Syrian opposition" are sharing reconnaissance data with the Russian air force and cooperating with the Syrian government.
More from Russia's Defense Ministry on its air operation in Syria:
The Ministry says, "recently we have heard advice from the Pentagon to change our strategy in Syria, to 'help' the United States achieve a political transition of power."
"We remind these advisors that the aim of our operations in Syria is to destroy terrorism -- a direct and clear threat to Russia and to the world."
'Official plans for a ceasefire in Syria haven't been made public': Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has responded to questions about media reports that Russia has proposed to the United States that a ceasefire start on March 1.
Peskov said that no plans had officially been made public yet -- though notably he did not deny that a proposal for a March 1 ceasefire had been made.
"The fact is that no plans have been officially made public. So let's start from that, and let's not speculate on information. You know that Russia has consistently made efforts in the context of resolving the Syrian conflict together with other countries, which are partners in the process. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Peskov said.
UN warns of hunger in Syria's Homs amid government offensive
A Syrian government military offensive has cut supply routes to 120,000 people in northern Homs province since mid-January, the United Nations has warned.
Residents of the area are at risk of hunger and malnutrition as well as deaths due to a lack of medical care. Bread prices in the area are already 10 times higher than in the city of Homs -- making the staple unaffordable for most families.