Russian jets in Syria pound Latakia ahead of ceasefire
Russia has bombed Syrian rebel-held areas in northwestern Syria today as government forces sought to take more ground at the Turkish border, Reuters report.
The bombings come hours before a planned halt to fighting, which rebels predicted Damascus and Moscow would ignore.
The "cessation of hostilities" agreed by the United States and Russia is due to take hold on the morning of Feb. 27, from midnight. But opponents of President Bashar al-Assad say they expect the government to press on with its advance by branding opposition fighters Al-Qaeda militants unprotected by the truce.
US leads 22 strikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq
The United States and its allies have carried out 22 strikes against the IS group in Syria and Iraq on Feb. 24, the U.S.-led coalition has said in a statement.
The coalition carried out seven strikes in Syria and 15 in Iraq. The strikes in Iraq were coordinated with the Iraqi government. Nine of the strikes targeted IS near its stronghold in Mosul.
French teacher to face trial for 'lying' over IS attack (AFP)
A teacher in France is to face trial in April for allegedly lying to police by claiming he was attacked by three IS members, a prosecutor has said, AFP reports.
The teacher, Tsion Sylvain Saadoun, is charged with "false accusation of an imaginary crime," said Brice Robin, prosecutor in the southern city of Marseille.
In November, just days after a devastating IS attack in Paris that left 130 people dead, Saadoun invited press to his home in Marseille, claiming he had been attacked with a knife by three men who said they were tied to IS.
Russia: Implementing U.S.-Russia joint statement on Syria will bring political settlement closer
Russia's Foreign Ministry says that a "close implementation of the joint statement by Russia and the United States on Syria will bring prospects for a political settlement closer," RIA Novosti reports.
Lavrov: there is not and will be no 'Plan B' for Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that there is no "Plan B" for Syria.
"There isn't one and there will be none. No one has [a Plan B]," Lavrov told journalists.
Lavrov's comments came after reports that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had talked of a Plan B in Syria in the event that a ceasefire and peace talks did not work. That plan could involved the partition of Syria, Kerry said.
Moscow concerned about U.S. 'plan B' in Syria if ceasefire fails
Moscow is not aware of any "plan B" of Washington's regarding the Syrian crisis, deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said.
"Statements by Washington about the existence of some sort of "plan B" are concerning... we are convinced that now we need to concentrate all efforts on fulfilling the agreements reached regarding a ceasefire," Bogdanov told an audience at the Valdai Club in Moscow today.
U.N. to announce new round of Syria talks: envoy
The United Nations will name a date on Feb. 26 for Syria's warring parties to return to the negotiating table for a second round of talks, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has said, Reuters report.
UN may have missed target with air drop to Syria's Deir al-Zor
The UN's first aid-drop over the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, a government-controlled part of which is under siege by Islamic State militants, may have missed its target.
The World Food Programme said in a press release that the operation had "faced technical difficulties."
"The team will try again when possible to deliver assistance to up to 200,000 people in desperate need in the besieged city whom we have not been able to reach since March 2014. High altitude drops are extremely challenging to carry out and take more than one trial to develop full accuracy," The WFP statement read.
Saudi jets to arrive in Turkey to strike IS (AFP)
Saudi jets are due to arrive at the Incirlik air base in Turkey this week take part in the air campaign against IS militants in Syria, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.
"We are expecting the planes to arrive today or tomorrow (Feb. 26)," Cavusoglu told the state-run Anatolia news agency, adding that Saudi equipment and personnel had already arrived on the ground.
Turkey's actions on Syria border are aggression: Russian FM spox
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has denounced Turkey's actions on the Syrian border as "aggression."
In an interview with the Russian Argumenty I Fakty newspaper, Zakharova said that Ankara was "exacerbating the situation on the Syria-Turkey border, carrying out provocations. Although this is already far from being a provocation, this is, by and large, aggression."