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A woman rests near rubble in the Syrian town of Darat Izza in Aleppo Province on February 28.
A woman rests near rubble in the Syrian town of Darat Izza in Aleppo Province on February 28.

Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State

Follow all of the latest developments as they happen.

Latest News For February 29

-- The United States Army's elite Delta Force is on the verge of beginning operations to target, capture or kill top IS operatives in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN.

-- Syrian government forces have regained control of a road used by the army to access Aleppo, after making advances against Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and state television reported.


-- 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.

-- Tajik media are reporting that a woman known to be the second wife of Gulmurod Halimov, the fugitive Tajik colonel who defected to the IS group, has left for Syria along with the couple's four young children.

-- The UN is poised to begin delivering aid to people living in besieged areas of Syria, making use of a truce brokered by the United States and Russia. The first deliveries are planned for Feb. 29, with aid due to reach about 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas over the next five days.

-- A truce negotiated between Syrian rebels and the government has caused a dramatic decrease in airstrikes around rebel-held territory, but there were few celebrations, with many residents suspecting a trick, CNN report.

* NOTE: Live blog posts are time-stamped according to Central European Time (CET).

18:27 8.1.2016

Back to Libya, where IS claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings yesterday that killed tens of people and injured many more.

Mary Fitzgerald tweets that there is anger on Libyan social media in the aftermath of the bombings, which Libyans feel did not really make much of a dent on the world's media.

18:23 8.1.2016

U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder is sharing comments about the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria.

Finally, Ryder points out that the fight against IS will not be an easy one.

18:22 8.1.2016

U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder is sharing comments about the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria.

Ryder says that the coalition has put pressure on IS since the start of its campaign and has forced IS to behave reactively.

18:21 8.1.2016

U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder is sharing comments about the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria.

Ryder has this to say about the situation in Haditha in Anbar province where IS have been attacking Iraqi forces.

18:19 8.1.2016

U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder is sharing comments about the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria.

Ryder is starting with updates on Ramadi, which Iraqi forces supported by close air support from the coalition have retaken from IS and are now clearing:

17:52 8.1.2016

Libya Security Monitor notes that IS's claim of responsibility for the Zliten suicide truck bombing refers to the Abu Mugharia campaign, linking the attack to IS's other attacks on targets in the Libyan oil crescent.

IS carried out a second suicide bombing yesterday at Ras Lanuf in the oil crescent.

17:27 8.1.2016

Yesterday's suicide truck bomb in Zliten in Libya -- which IS are now claiming responsibility for -- targeted a police base in the western Libyan town and killed at least 60 policemen.

Around 200 more were wounded, local officials have said.

AP notes that IS's Libyan affiliate have been trying to gain a foothold in Zliten as the group tries to spread westwards from its stronghold of Sirte.

17:23 8.1.2016

IS in Libya are claiming that the suicide bomber who carried out yesterday's suicide truck bombing in Zliten in Libya has the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir -- his name means that he is a foreign militant, i.e. not a Libyan.

17:17 8.1.2016

Libyan social media accounts have started to circulate a statement, purportedly by the IS group in Libya, claiming responsibility for yesterday's truck suicide bombing in Zliten.

17:05 8.1.2016

Two Britons were jailed today after being arrested in Hungary where they were suspected of heading to Syria, in breach of strict travel constraints because they had convictions for terrorism offenses, Reuters reports.

The two -- Trevor Brooks, 40, and Simon Keeer, 44 -- were "well-known Islamists," according to Reuters. They were extradited back to Britain and sentenced to two years in prison today.

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