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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).

15:42 20.11.2015

Mali's security minister says the hotel gunmen are "holding no more hostages."

15:44 20.11.2015

While reports are suggesting that the gunmen who stormed the Radisson Blu are no longer holding any hostages there, a foreign security source has told AFP that 18 bodies have been recovered from the hotel.

15:49 20.11.2015

The U.S. Africa Command has tweeted information about the role of the small team of U.S. troops who are assisting Malian forces at the Radission Blu hotel siege in Bamako.

15:59 20.11.2015

A Belgian diplomat was among those killed in the Mali hotel siege.

16:00 20.11.2015

Mali's Presidency has tweeted thanking the country's defense and security forces as well as "friendly countries" for their assistance in tackling the hostage crisis at the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

16:06 20.11.2015

Two gunmen were killed in the Mali hotel siege in Bamako, the Malian military has announced.

16:10 20.11.2015

More information has emerged about Geoffrey Dieudonné, the Belgian government official who was killed in today's hotel siege at the Radission Blu hotel in Mali.

Dieudonné was on a three-day trip to Mali to give a training seminar to Mali parliamentary officials, the Belgian Parliament said in an official statement.

The exact circumstances of Dieudonné's death remain unknown, the statement added.

16:13 20.11.2015

The BBC has tweeted information about the hostages who were held in the Radisson Blu hotel today.

They included 20 Indians, 10 Chinese, and at least six Americans. Several of the hostages were airline staff including six Turkish Airlines workers, 12 Air France crew and two Russians working for Ulyanovsk airline.

16:25 20.11.2015

Reports are emerging that the death toll from the Mali hotel siege could be as high as 27, though it is not clear how many gunmen have been killed.

16:28 20.11.2015

Here is a brief summary of the events at today's hotel hostage crisis in Mali.

-- An unknown number of gunmen -- some reports said two and others said as many as 10 -- stormed the Radisson Blu luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako at 0700 GMT today.

-- The gunmen trapped some 170 people in the hotel, including 30 staff. The rest were guests.

-- The gunmen entered the hotel shooting and shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is Great."

-- Some hostages were reportedly freed after they showed that they could read verses from the Quran.

-- Special forces stormed the hotel to free the hostages.

-- At least three people have been killed including a Belgian Member of Parliament, Geoffrey Dieudonne, who was in Mali to give a seminar to local government officials.

-- There are reports that 27 bodies have been seen at the Radisson Blu.

-- Two hotel attackers have been reported killed.

-- Al-Mourabitoun, a jihadist group affililated to Al-Qaeda and based in northern Mali has claimed responsibility for the attacks but this has not yet been confirmed.

-- Six Americans were freed from the hotel. It is not clear whether any more Americans were inside.

-- U.S. troops assisted with freeing hostages.

-- French special forces were sent to Mali to assist with the response to the siege.

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