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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).

13:29 4.1.2016

Libya's Al Wasat News also reports that a senior IS leader, Abu Hamam al-Tunisi ("the Tunisian") was killed during the clashes at Sidra in Libya today.

14:14 4.1.2016

The Daily Telegraph reports that the assault by IS militants to control Libya's largest oil depot at Sidra comes amid expectation that British troops could soon be sent to Libya to help its fledgling government fight IS there.

Under the plan, up to 1,000 British troops would form part of a joint force with Italy - Libya's former colonial power - in training and advising Libyan forces. British special forces could also be engaged on the front line.

14:16 4.1.2016

Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, has called the recent IS killing video featuring a male militant and a young boy with British accents, "desperate stuff."

The video shows that the IS group is "losing territory" and "increasingly losing anybody's sympathy", Cameron said, according to the BBC.

14:16 4.1.2016

The United States and its allies conducted 25 strikes against the IS group in Iraq on January 3, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement released today.

14:19 4.1.2016

AP is quoting a spokesman for the armed group that controls most of Libya's oil fields as saying that IS's Libyan affiliate detonated two car bombs at a checkpoint near Sidra. Reports have emerged earlier today saying that IS used suicide car bombs in its assault on Sidra.

AP reports:

Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for the forces that control the majority of Libya's oil fields, says six of their fighters were killed in Monday's attacks, along with five IS fighters in the coastal port town of [Sidra].

14:57 4.1.2016

IS's claims that it has taken over the Libyan town of Bin Jawad have not been commented on by anyone from Libya's authorities, Reuters is reporting.

Bin Jawad is close to the Sidra oil export terminal where witnesses say there have been clashes with IS militants and a local militia and where IS have detonated at least one suicide car bomb.

14:59 4.1.2016

AFP is quoting an army source as saying that IS launched a suicide car bomb on a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Sidra.

Bashir Boudhfira, a colonel in the army loyal to Libya's internationally recognized government, told AFP that IS militants then clashed with troops guarding the Ras Lanouf oil facility but were pushed back. Two soldiers were killed, according to Boudhfira.

15:17 4.1.2016

A Petrol Facilities Guard source has told Reuters that two IS suicide bombers targeted the Sidra oil export terminal earlier, killing two guards.

But the IS militants have now retreated to neighboring areas, the source says.

15:30 4.1.2016

Lebanese media is reporting that Israeli shells have hit the southern Lebanese town of Al Wazzani, with initial reports of injuries and damage.

The shelling comes after reports that the Lebanese group Hizbollah targeted an Israeli army patrol in the Har Dov area along the border with an explosive device. Israeli authorities have told residents in the area to remain home, Israel's Haaretz daily is reporting.

The reports follow the killing in the Syrian capital Damascus last month of Hizballah leader Samir Qantar. Hizballah and Syrian state media said Qantar had been killed in an Israeli air strike; Israel stopped short of confirming responsibility for the strike. Hizballah has sent hundreds of militants into Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

15:35 4.1.2016

The Lebanese group Hizbollah has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack on an Israeli army vehicle in the Lebanese border area.

Hizbollah said that the attack was carried out by Samir Qantar's group, referring to the Hizballah leader killed in Damascus last month in what Hizballah says was an Israeli air to surface missile.

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