A woman rests near rubble in the Syrian town of Darat Izza in Aleppo Province on February 28.

Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State

February 29, 2016 04:29 CET

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).

15:59 12.1.2016

More from Turkish prime minister Davutoglu ("Daesh" is an Arabic acronym for the IS group).

16:02 12.1.2016

The Istanbul suicide bomber "recently entered Turkey from Syria," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said.

16:04 12.1.2016

16:07 12.1.2016

All of the people killed in this morning's suicide bombing in Istanbul were foreign nationals, Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu has said.

16:08 12.1.2016

16:14 12.1.2016

Syria's Istanbul-based opposition coalition, the National Coalition, has condemned the suicide bombing in Sultanahmet Square in an online statement.

16:47 12.1.2016

The United States has backtracked on its position over Syria, softening its stance to accommodate Russia, opposition coordinator Riad Hijab has said, Reuters reports.

Hijab was chosen in December as coordinator of the opposition negotiating body for future peace talks with the Syrian government.

16:50 12.1.2016

Turkish President Erdogan has criticized Russia's intervention in Syria, saying that Moscow is laying the groundwork to create a "boutique" state in Syria around the northern province of Latakia, including by carrying out attacks against ethnic Turkomans there.

Erdogan's comments came as Syrian government forces advanced into the rebel stronghold of Salma in Latakia today.

16:56 12.1.2016

IS militants in the town of Bin Jawad in Libya have killed five Libyans, Libya's Al Wasat is reporting.

The five men were reportedly killed in Bin Jawad's public square on January 11 on charges of collaborating with Libya's military.

IS overran Bin Jawad on January 4.

17:28 12.1.2016

Turkey analyst Aaron Stein has these comments about the suicide bombing in Istanbul today.

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Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State