Pawel Krzysiek, the spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria, says that the Red Cross, Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN convoy is en route to the rebel-besieged Shi'ite villages of Kefraya and Foua.
As Reuters reported earlier, a spokesman for Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard in Sidra says suspected IS militants used three boats to try to access the Zueitina oil port.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has condemned the actions of two Malaysians reportedly involved in suicide bombings in Syria and Iraq that killed more than 30 people, Channel News Asia reports.
“Their actions and ideology have no place in Malaysia or Islam, and the Government is absolutely committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms and guises, both at home and overseas,” Mr Najib wrote on his Facebook page.
The New Straits Times reported earlier today that one of the bombers, Mohd Amirul Ahmad Rahim, 26, who went under the nom de guerre Abu Uqash Malizi, detonated bombs during clashes in IS's Syrian stronghold Raqqa on December 29.
On January 3, a second Malaysian, Mohamad Syazwan Mohd Salim, 31, carried out a suicide attack at the Camp Speicher military base near Tikrit in Iraq.
Sara Hussein of AFP tweets that the aid operations sent today to three besieged Syrian towns have to enter the towns simultaneously.
Madaya, near Damascus, is held by rebels and besieged by government forces.
The government controlled Shi'ite towns of Foua and Kefraya are besieged by rebels including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra Front.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent tweets photos of aid convoys arriving at Madaya, Foua and Kefraya.
British jets have targeted IS militants near their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, the UK's Ministry of Defense has said.
France has called on the Syrian government to end its siege of the town of Madaya ahead of peace talks on January 25, AFP is reporting.
The BBC is also reporting that Red Cross aid trucks are now waiting on the road to Madaya. Entry to the town is being coordinated with the arrival of aid to the government-held Shi'ite towns of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, which are besieged by rebels.
The Guardian has more on Britain's announcement that it struck targets in the IS group's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa on January 10, using hi-tech Brimstone missiles for the first time.
A Brimstone is a “fire-and-forget” radar-guided precision weapon which can be used against moving targets, the Guardian writes.