UN fears for hundreds of thousands if government troops encircle Aleppo
Hundreds of thousands of civilians could be cut off from food and medical supplies if Syrian government forces manage to encircle rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the UN has said.
"If the GoS (government of Syria) and allies sever the last remaining flight route out of eastern Aleppo City it would leave up to 300,000 people, still residing in the city, cut off from humanitarian aid unless cross-line access could be negotiated," the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an urgent bulletin.
Syrian government forces backed by Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Russian air strikes have embarked on a major offensive around Aleppo, which is divided between government and rebel control.
Australian IS militants 'untrained and naive'
Australian militants fighting alongside the IS group are untrained, naive and expendable, Security and Intelligence Organization director Duncan Lewis has said.
"Untrained and naive young Australians are being drawn into the conflict and finding themselves in what I would describe as highly expendable, highly dangerous positions of low importance amid the ISIL effort," Lewis said on Tuesday, Sky News Australia reports.
Lewis said that at least 45 Australians have died fighting alongside IS in Syria and Iraq, possibly as many as 49.
Iraqi woman charged with role in IS hostage Kayla Mueller's death
The wife of a senior IS militant killed in a U.S. special forces raid last year has been charged in U.S. federal court with holding American Kayla Mueller hostage and contributing to her death.
The woman, Nisreen Assad Ibrahim Bahar a.k.a. Umm Sayyaf, admitted after her capture last May that she and her husband Abu Sayyaf held Mueller captive alongside several other female hostages.
While Mueller was held hostage by Sayyaf she was repeatedly raped by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, U.S. officials have said.
That concludes our live-blogging of the crisis surrounding Islamic State. Check back here tomorrow for more of our ongoing coverage.
Libya forces say they conducted strikes against IS in Derna
Forces allied to Libya's eastern government conducted air strikes against IS militants in Derna city, a spokesman for Libyan National Army Forces said, according to Reuters.
An LNA MiG-23 aircraft later crashed "due to a technical problem," the spokesman said, adding that the plane had been involved in air strikes and that the pilot had managed to escape.
The militant group Ansar al-Sharia, which is close to Al-Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for downing the plane.
Canada to end bombing missions in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 22
Canadian fighter jets will return home on Feb. 22 from their participation in the U.S.-led coalition against the IS group in Syria and Iraq, while the government will triple the size of its training and assisting mission there.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada's revised mission today, the Globe and Mail reports.
IS claims bomb blast in Riyadh
IS has claimed responsibility for a bomb blast that damaged a car in the Saudi capital Riyadh today, Reuters reports.
A police spokesman said that there were no injuries in the blast, which damaged the car while it was parked outside a citizen's house in the Al-Azizia district.
Iran-backed Shi'ite militia warns against sending Arab forces to Syria, Iraq
The powerful Iraqi Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia Kataib Hezbollah has warned that Arab forces sent to Syria or Iraq would "open the gates of hell."
"The Arab kingdoms tried Daesh mercenaries to implement their malicious plans in Iraq and Syria, and they failed," a statement from Kataib Hezbollah said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Kataib Hezbollah, which is fighting IS in Iraq alongside Iraqi government forces, has also sent fighters to Syria to support government troops.
Its statements come after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia both said that they are prepared to supply ground troops to fight IS in Syria.
'There are fears 70,000 more refugees could arrive at Turkey border': Syria Direct
Syria Direct has spoken with civilians who fled from northern Aleppo to the Syrian border during the recent Russian-backed government offensive near the city.
“There are fears that 70,000 additional refugees could arrive at the border,” on top of the estimated 70,000 already there if the regime continues its progress north, Abu Ahmed al-Halabi, who fled from northern Aleppo to the border during the recent offensive told Syria Direct on Monday.
“Today we're 70,000 displaced, and people expect there will be up to 150,000 at the Bab al-Salama border soon if the Russian bombings continue,” Mazan al-Halabi, the alias of a north Aleppo resident currently near Bab a-Salama, told Syria Direct Monday.