Fighting IS not a priority for Turkey: US spy chief
Turkey does not place a high priority on fighting Islamic State militants and as a result foreign fighters are able to travel through the country into Syria, U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper has said, AFP reports.
"I think Turkey has other priorities and other interests," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
From our news desk this morning:
Death Toll In Baghdad Double Bombing Rises To 73
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.
Five people remained missing and 112 people were still hospitalized on February 29, one day after a blast ripped through the crowded Mredi market and a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-filled vest amid a crowd that had gathered to help victims of the first blast.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on security forces to "exert further efforts to prevent the terrorists from carrying out their crimes against innocent civilians."
The February 28 double bombing came hours after Islamic State suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a government compound for security forces in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, just five kilometers from the strategic Baghdad International Airport.
At least 12 government and paramilitary soldiers were killed and 35 others wounded in that attack.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Our Tajik service reports this about Gulmurod Halimov, the Tajik police colonel who defected to the IS group last year:
Second Wife Of Fugitive Tajik Colonel 'Left For Syria'
Tajik media are reporting that a woman known to be the second wife of a fugitive Tajik colonel, Gulmurod Halimov, has left for Syria along with the couple's four young children.
The relatives of Humairo Mirova confirmed on February 28 that she left Tajikistan earlier this month but insisted that they were unaware of her whereabouts.
According to the family, Mirova told them she was going on vacation and asked them not to try to contact her until she calls them herself.
There were no official comments on Mirova's case. However, her brother, Shohnazar Mirov, said he was kept in police custody for a week after Mirova's departure.
Mirov said authorities questioned him on his sister's whereabouts.
Mirova, 40, worked as a spokesperson for the State Customs Service, but her employer said she has been on a maternity leave since the summer of 2015.
Tajik media reported that Mirova became Halimov's second wife 10 years ago.
Halimov, the former commander of the Interior Ministry's special forces, known as OMON, disappeared in April 2015.
Halimov later appeared on a video to confirm that he had defected to the Islamic State militant group in Syria.
Tajik authorities say they were continuing efforts to capture Halimov. They also say he has been seriously injured twice since leaving the country.
More aid to reach Syria's besieged communities
As a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Syria, the United Nations says it is ready to begin delivering aid to more people living in besieged areas of Syria.
The first deliveries are planned for today, the BBC reports.
Aid deliveries are expected -- or hoped -- to reach some 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas over the next five days. The UN wants to reach some 1.7 million Syrians by the end of March.
UN: thousands may have starved to death in Syria
This very upsetting news just in from AFP. The UN says that thousands of Syrians may have starved to death in besieged areas of the country.
Accusations of Syria truce violations should be approached with caution: Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that accusations that the Syria ceasefire had been violated should be treated with caution.
"There have been calls from Moscow to be very careful in accusing someone of breaking the truce, to do this really ultra-cautiously, ultra-carefully. The situation is not yet stable. Here we can only renew such calls," Peskov said.
No one expects Syria truce to be easy: Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this morning that the truce in Syria is ongoing and that it would not be easy.
"The Russian and U.S. presidents from the outset stressed that the path to a sustainable ceasefire will not be easy, it cannot be easy by definition, due to the complexity of the situation in Syria," Peskov said.
"At the same time it is important that an agreement has been reached, major steps are now being made in accordance with the agreements. The process is ongoing, it was clear beforehand that it would not be easy. However, we know the message from our military -- the ceasefire has come into effect," Peskov said.
Thousands may have starved to death in besieged Syrian areas: UN
AFP has more details on the comments by the UN's human rights chief this morning that thousands of people may have died of starvation in sieges in Syria.
"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges, which deprive civilians of essential goods such as food," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said.
In an address opening the UN Human Rights Council's main annual session, Zeid pointed to the desperate situation of the estimated 480,000 people "currently trapped in besieged towns and villages in Syria -- and have been, in some cases for years."
France calls for meeting over breaches of Syria truce (Reuters)
France has called for an immediate meeting of the Syria task force to discuss breaches of the cessation of hostilities that came into force on Feb. 26, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has said.