IRGC general, 6 Basij volunteers killed in Syria: reports
A high-ranking member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and six Iranian Basij militia volunteers have been killed in fighting in Syria, semi-official Iranian media is reporting today.
Tens of residents of Russia's Astrakhan Oblast fighting with IS in Syria: officials
Several tens of residents of Russia's Astrakhan Oblast are fighting in Syria alongside the IS group, the head of the regional Interior Ministry, Oleg Agarkov, has told Interfax.
Agarkov said that over 70 people from the region, mostly aged under 30, were fighting in Syria and that local Federal Security Service (FSB) and police officers were working to identify recruiters.
"We are checking the residential sector, identifying tenants and so on. We are carrying out measures in areas where there are large concentrations of people. There are results," Agarkov said.
Video shows scale of displacement from Aleppo amid Russian air strikes
Video footage posted yesterday by the Shahba News Agency shows some of the scale of the displacement of Syrians in northern Aleppo province as a government offensive backed by heavy Russian air strikes encircles the city.
Two Kyrgyz militants recruited others from Syria: GKNB
Two Kyrgyz nationals are accused of carrying out recruitment activities while they were in Syria, according to the press service of Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (GKNB).
The two men are both residents of the city of Talas in northwestern Kyrgyzstan and have been identified as A.A. born in 1986 and Zh.A., born in 1993.
A.A. is thought to have relocated his wife and three children to Syria in 2015.
Syrian rebel commander says northern Aleppo countryside 'totally encircled'
The commander of a U.S.-supported Syrian rebel group has told Reuters this morning that the northern countryside of Aleppo province is completely encircled by Syrian government forces and its allies.
Heavy Russian bombardment is continuing, said Hassan Haj Ali, the head of Free Syrian Army group Liwa Suqour al-Jabal that has received U.S. military training in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The comments from Haj Ali come after reports that Syrian government troops broke a rebel siege of two Shi'ite villages in northern Aleppo province on Feb. 3, cutting off rebel supply lines from Turkey to Aleppo city.
Syrian government closes in on Daraa city
AP has more on the Syrian state media reports that government troops have retaken the rebel-held town of Atman in Daraa province.
As AP notes, the retaking of Atman opens supply routes to Daraa city immediately to the south, which is contested between rebels and government forces.
As with the government advances in Aleppo province, Russian air strikes have played a key part in the recapture of Atman in Daraa province.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that government troops and allied militias advanced under cover of heavy air strikes and artillery bombardment.
Pro-rebel social media accounts have also reported Russian air strikes in Atman. This unverified video purports to show the aftermath of a Feb. 3 air strike in the town.
German spy agency: IS sending militants disguised as refugees to Europe
IS militants have been deliberately planted among refugees flowing into Europe, the head of German's BfV intelligence agency has said.
Hans-Georg Maassen made his comments on ZDF television this morning, a day after Berlin police foiled a potential IS attack in Berlin.
"Then we have repeatedly seen that terrorists ... have slipped in camouflaged or disguised as refugees. This is a fact that the security agencies are facing," Maassen told ZDF television.
"We are trying to recognize and identify whether there are still more IS fighters or terrorists from IS that have slipped in."
Syrian government troops capture southern town of Atman: state media
Syrian state media is reporting that government troops and allied militias have captured the southern town of Atman from rebels.
Atman is in the southern province of Daraa and is immediately north of Daraa city. Click here to see the location of Atman on Google maps.
The pro-government Syria24 Facebook page posted this photo of Atman under government control.
Pro-government Twitter user Ivan Sidorenko posted these photos purportedly taken this morning inside Atman.
Russia hasn't abandoned political settlement in Syria: Peskov
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that suggestions that Russia had abandoned a political and diplomatic resolution to the Syrian crisis in favor of military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were incorrect.
"We consider this opinion as incorrect, we cannot agree with it. Russia has been consistently making efforts in line with the common international work towards a peaceful settlement, political settlement of the situation in Syria. At the same time, Russia is supporting the legitimate leadership in Syria in the war against terror and terror groups and at the same time, of course, we are making efforts towards the political-diplomatic track," Peskov said in his daily press briefing this morning.
Kremlin monitoring Saudi plans for ground troops in Syria: Peskov
The Kremlin is monitoring the situation after reports that Saudi Arabia has expressed willingness to send ground troops to Syria to fight IS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"We are carefully monitoring the situation, observing. But I cannot say anything definite. You should address this question to the Defense Ministry," Peskov said.