U.S. blacklists prominent IS ideologue, oil 'officials'
The United States on Feb. 11 blacklisted three IS militants including the group's prominent ideology and a senior oil "official."
Turki al-Bin'ali, 31, was sanctioned for helping the IS group recruit foreign fighters, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.
Bin'ali, who comes from a wealthy Bahraini family, was an early supporter of IS and wrote a frequently cited biography of the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
CIA says IS has used chemical weapons in Syria
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency has said that IS militants in Syria have used "chemical munitions on the battlefield."
John Brennan's comments were featured in excerpts from the television news show 60 Minutes. The full interview with Brennan will air Feb. 14 on CBS.
ISSG statement on Syria ceasefire
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has shared the text of the International Syria Support Group's (ISSG) statement regarding a "nationwide cessation of hostilities" and humanitarian access in Syria.
Russian PM: deployment of coalition troops to Syria could 'complicate everything'
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that the deployment of ground troops to Syria by the U.S.-led coalition could "complicate an already difficult situation" and "destroy the remaining conditions for a political settlement to the crisis."
Medvedev made his comments in an interview with the Sputnik news agency, published in full in Russian this morning by RIA Novosti.
Medvedev repeated Russia's position that ground troops were needed for the "fight against IS" but that Syrian government was best placed to do this.
The Russian prime minister gave a much starker warning to the German Handelsblatt business daily yesterday, saying that if Arab forces entered the Syrian war, they could spark a "new world war."
Medvedev was responding to comments from Saudi Arabia, which was said that it is prepared to send ground troops for the "fight against IS" in Syria. However, as The Guardian notes, the United States fears the prospect of Riyadh joining the "volatile mix" of forces already in Syria.
A Saudi defense spokesman, Brig Gen Ahmed Asiri, showed no sign of backing away from the idea that it was “an irreversible decision”. He said the force could be operational by March or April. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries offering troops were establishing a headquarters, he said, and Saudi’s position, he said, was to commit ground troops because “today we know there is no one fighting Daesh [Isis] in Syria”.
IS 'graduates' around 100 child militants from a camp near Raqqa: SOHR
The IS group has "graduated" some 450 new militants including around 100 children from its "caliphate cubs" camp, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.
SOHR, which relies on a network of sources for information, said that several reliable sources had told it that IS had trained the militants at a camp between Aleppo and Raqqa provinces in Syria.
The new militants completed a shortened training course of just one month, compared to the usual two month training camp IS uses, and were sent home to their families for three days before being deployed, SOHR said.
Syria ceasefire won't hold if Russia doesn't stop airstrikes: Turkey
The ceasefire in Syria agreed by major powers will not hold unless Russia does not end its airstrikes on Western-backed opposition forces, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.
Turkey says 100,000 Syrian refugees in camps in Syria near Turkish border
There are some 100,000 Turkish refugees are in nine camps inside Syria near the Turkish border, including 35,000 who fled a Russian-backed government offensive in northern Aleppo province this month, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan has said.
Carter says UAE will put special forces in Syria
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said that the United Arab Emirates has agreed to send special forces to Syria to help develop local Sunni fighters in order to recapture the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
UN siege aid to Syria could start within 24 hours
The UN has said that it hopes to start delivering aid to some besieged areas in Syria within the next 24 hours.
The move comes after an announcement by world powers that they would push for a cessation in hostilities in a week's time.