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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).

16:12 29.1.2016

Judge halts Belgian Syria fighter trial over security concerns

A Belgian judge has adjourned indefinitely a high profile appeal hearing with links to the November 13 Paris attacks because police had not met his demands for more security, Expatica.com reports.

The judge, Pierre Saint-Remy, had suspended the hearing yesterday, calling for increased security measures.

16:12 29.1.2016

16:25 29.1.2016

Message to the Syrian people by the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura

16:27 29.1.2016

16:35 29.1.2016

The BBC's Lina Sinjab has shared this image from Geneva, showing journalists waiting for the arrival of delegations to the Syria peace talks.

16:36 29.1.2016

16:40 29.1.2016

16:51 29.1.2016

The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Syria and Iraq, Army Col. Steve Warren, has shared a video showing Iraqi Security Forces being trained using lessons learned from the battle to recapture the town of Ramadi from IS.

17:41 29.1.2016

Syrian Turkomans cross to Turkey, fleeing advances of pro-Assad forces: Reuters

Hundreds of mostly Turkoman refugees fearing intensifying clashes between Syrian pro-government forces and the opposition in Latakia province have fled to Turkey, footage from Reuters TV showed and Turkmen officials have said.

According to Reuters, some 400 Turkomans -- ethnic Turks living in Syria -- have left the Syrian village of Yamadi and crossed into Turkey. The flow of refugees has increased since government forces captured the Latakia town of Rabia last week.

17:43 29.1.2016

British woman who took son to Syria found guilty of joining IS

A British woman who took her toddler son to Syria has been found guilty of membership of the IS group.

Tareena Shakil, 26, is the first woman to return from IS-controlled territory to be convicted of such offenses, the BBC reports.

Shakil admitted traveling to Syria but denied joining IS, saying that she had just wanted to live under Sharia law and had sought to escape an "unhappy family life."

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