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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).

10:14 21.1.2016

The Libya Observer news site says that IS attacked the Harouge oil storage tanks and that there have been clashes between IS militants and the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) armed militia -- which protects Libya's oil facilities -- this morning.

10:13 21.1.2016

This photo claims to show a fire at Ras Lanuf's tank farm following IS's attack earlier today.

The IS group has made several assaults on Libya's oil infrastructure this month, with analysts suggesting that the militants intend to damage them rather than overrun them.

10:11 21.1.2016

Several analysts and news outlets have posted these photos that purport to show burning oil pipelines near Ras Lanuf in Libya where IS militants attacked earlier today.

10:10 21.1.2016

IS Militants Attack Near Libya's Ras Lanuf Oil Terminal

Militants, suspected to be from the IS group, have attacked oil installations close to Libya's Ras Lanuf oil terminal this morning, an engineer at the port and an energy official have told Reuters.

At least two storage tanks have been set on fire near Ras Lanuf.

IS launched attacks there earlier this month but were pushed back.

10:08 21.1.2016

IS Using Syria's Biggest Dam To Hide Prisoners

IS militants are using Syria's biggest dam to hide high value prisoners and senior officials, in the belief that the United States won't bomb it for fear of causing a massive flood.

The Taqba Dam is 25 miles west of IS's stronghold of Raqqa.

21:36 20.1.2016

We are now closing the live blog down for today. Join us again tomorrow for our continuing coverage tracking Islamic State.

15:45 20.1.2016

Turkey Arrests Two More Over Deadly Istanbul Bombing

Turkey has arrested two more people suspected of having links to the suicide bomber who killed 10 German tourists and injured 15 more people in an attack in Istanbul last week, the Anadolu news agency reports.

The two suspects were arrested in Saniurfa near the border with Syria.

15:43 20.1.2016

Russian Strikes 'Strengthening Hand Of President Assad'

Reuters reports that four months of Russian air strikes in Syria are strengthening the hand of President Bashar al-Assad and taking their toll on rebel forces.

The IS group is also under pressure, cutting pay to its militants as oil smuggling operations are hit by falling prices.

The most significant gain for Assad since the start of the Russian intervention in September was last week's capture of the rebel stronghold of Salma in Latakia province.

15:37 20.1.2016

Russian Strikes Target Rebels In Jabal al-Akrad, Latakia: Ministry

Russia has carried out four air strikes on rebels in the Jabal al-Akrad area of Latakia province, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman has said.

The rebels are retreating from Syrian government and "patriotic opposition" forces, the spokesman, Igor Konashenkov added.

15:20 20.1.2016

RFE/RL's Frud Bezhan tweets this about the explosion in Kabul, noting that the Taliban warned they would attack Afghanistan's private media networks.

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