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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).

17:13 11.2.2016

Aleppo's water supply cut off by fighting: Red Cross

17:09 11.2.2016

Syrian opposition: Russian bombings endangering int'l security

The Saudi-backed main Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee has issued a statement saying that Russian bombings in Syria are endangering the international community.

"What Putin is doing today is not only harming Syria and its people, but also endangering peace and security," HNC coordinator Riad Hijab said after bilateral meetings with the United States, Saudi Arabia and Germany in Munich.

"Stopping aerial strikes is not a precondition for peace negotiations but the right of the Syrian people."

16:49 11.2.2016

16:32 11.2.2016

John Kerry wants 'all or nothing' Syria truce

A Western diplomat told Reuters that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wants an immediate ceasefire in Syria -- "All or nothing" -- although the Russians have proposed a truce from the beginning of next month.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the start of talks between major powers today in Munich that Moscow had submitted a proposal for a ceasefire and was waiting for a response.

16:28 11.2.2016

IS militants head south in Libya, threatening Sahel

IS militants are leaving their bases in Libya fearing Western air strikes and are heading south towards Africa's Sahel region, posing a threat to countries like Niger and Chad, officials and intelligence sources say according to Reuters.

"ISIS (the IS group) are moving towards southern Libya to avoid the likely air strikes from the European coalition," said Colonel Mahamane Laminou Sani, director of documentation and military intelligence for Niger's armed forces.

"If something like that happens, the whole Sahel is (affected)," he added on the sidelines of the annual U.S.-led 'Flintlock' counter-terrorism exercises in Senegal.

16:22 11.2.2016

Situation in Syria's Aleppo 'grotesque': UN Human Rights chief

The UN Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has described the situation around Aleppo as "grotesque."

"The warring parties in Syria are constantly sinking to new depths, without apparently caring in the slightest about the death and destruction they are wreaking across the country," Zeid said according to AP.

15:34 11.2.2016

15:33 11.2.2016

AFP to publish interview with Syrian President Assad on Feb. 12

The AFP news agency says it will publish an interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tomorrow -- his first in two months. Assad is now in a far stronger position than two months ago, thanks to Russian air strikes, which have helped his forces make gains against armed opposition groups.

It is likely that Assad will have been asked about the Russian-backed government offensive in Aleppo, calls for a cease fire, the Syria peace talks and sieges against civilian areas.

15:29 11.2.2016

More from U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, the U.S.-led coalition spokesman, who has slammed Russia's claims that the coalition bombed Aleppo yesterday.

Warren also criticized the Russian bombing campaign.

15:27 11.2.2016

U.S.-led coalition spox calls Russian bombing 'reckless & indiscriminate'

U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against IS, has published a series of tweets hitting back at Russian claims that U.S.-led aircraft bombed Aleppo on Feb. 10.

Warren said that Russia's bombing campaign in Syria is "reckless and indiscriminate and their efforts are strategically short-sighted."

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