IS rigs currency rates in Mosul to prop up finances: Reuters
IS militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are manipulating the exchange rate between U.S. dollars and Iraqi dinars to squeeze money out of local people as coalition bombers attack the group's finances, Reuters is reporting.
The U.S-led coalition against IS says that in addition to attacking IS militants and leaders it will go after financial infrastructure too.
IS frees Syrian Christians held since 2015 for ransom: AP
The Islamic State group has released the last of some 230 Assyrian Christians abducted a year ago in Syria after receiving millions of dollars in ransom, Christian officials told The Associated Press.
IS originally asked for $18 million in ransom for the Christians, but officials say that sum was lowered following negotiations.
Younan Talia, of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told The Associated Press that about 40 remaining Christian captives were released early Monday and are on their way to the northeastern town of Tal Tamr.
Younan said the release came after mediation led by a top Assyrian priest in northern Syria.
The extremists captured the Assyrians, members of an ancient Christian sect, last February after overrunning several communities on the southern bank of the Khabur River in northeastern Hassakeh province.
From our news desk:
Tajiks Detained After 'Liking' Islamic State Video
HATLON, Tajikistan -- Fourteen residents of Tajikistan's Yovon district have been detained for questioning after they clicked a "like" button on an Islamic extremist video that had been posted to the online Odnoklassniki social network.
An official in the Yovon district told RFE/RL on February 22 that the men were detained and questioned as part of an investigation into the video, which called on Tajik men to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Ten of the detained men were released after an interrogation, while four remained in custody on February 22.
Tajik authorities say at least 1,000 Tajik citizens have traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside IS militants.
Tajik officials also have raised concerns because the IS recruiting efforts appear to be attracting Tajiks at an increasing rate.
Authorities in other former Soviet republics of Central Asia also say hundreds of their citizens have fought alongside IS militants and other extremists in Syria and Iraq.
Syria envoy: deadly attacks suggest IS feeling 'cornered': AP
United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has told the Associated Press that deadly weekend bombings in Damascus and Homs claimed by the Islamic State group suggest the extremists are feeling cornered amid diplomatic efforts to end the country's five-year war.
IS cell in Morocco plotted attacks on shopping mall, hotel: AP
Moroccan officials and state media say authorities in the country dismantled a 10-person terrorist cell operating under the "supervision" of the IS group, and which was plotting imminent attacks on targets including a Casablanca shopping mall and a high-end hotel, the Associated Press reports.
No future in Syria that includes Assad: U.S.-led coalition spokesman
The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria has told BBC Radio 4 that the Russians "aren't helping" in Syria and that there is no future in Syria that includes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Damascus Shi'ite shrine attack deadliest in Syria's war: SOHR
A series of suicide attacks on Feb. 21 near a Shi'ite shrine south of the Syrian capital Damascus was the deadliest attack since Syria's war broke out in 2011, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.
Some 120 people, including at least 90 civilians, were among those killed when the attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group, exploded near the Sayidda Zeinab shrine.
Syrian opposition meet in Riyadh as efforts to reach ceasefire intensify: AFP
Syria's main opposition umbrella group is meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh today as Washington and Moscow worked to secure a ceasefire, AFP reports.
"There is a meeting," Monzer Makhous, a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told AFP in Riyadh.
The meeting is expected to continue for two or three days to discuss developments since the group decided to attend peace talks in Geneva last month, Makhous said.
Russia says 'terrorists' need to be prevented from worsening the situation in Syria
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that is important to stop attempts by terrorists to carry out attacks in order to worsen the situation in Syria.
"We are convinced that these heinous criminal acts require a proper principled response from the international community. It is important to put reliable barriers in the way of attempts by the IS group and the Al Nusra Front and other terrorist groups in Syria to further exacerbate the situation in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the February 21 attacks in Damascus and Homs that killed over 130 people.