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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).

17:23 23.11.2015

France's National Police has put out tweets with details of two of the men believed to be behind the Paris attacks, about whom they are seeking information.

The first tweet asks for information about Abdeslam Salah, the only one of the suspected Paris attackers to remain alive. He has so far evaded a manhunt. The police wanted notice describes Salah as a "dangerous fugitive."

Police are also seeking information about a man they believe is the third suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Stade de France but who has so far not been identified.

17:24 23.11.2015

This ends our live blogging of the aftermath of the Paris attacks for November 23. Be sure to check back here tomorrow for our continuing coverage.

08:56 24.11.2015

French police are examining what appears to be a suicide belt that was found abandoned on a Paris street.

The item reportedly resembles belts used by attackers who carried out the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, the BBC is reporting.

09:05 24.11.2015

Russia's Defense Ministry has said that a Russian Su-24 jet was shot down in Syria.

RIA Novosti has published a statement from the Ministry, saying that, "Today in Syria, allegedly as a result of ground fire, an Su-24 plane of the Russian air group in the Syrian Arab Republic crashed."

"The plane was at an altitude of 6,000 meters. The fate of the pilots is being confirmed. According to preliminary data, the pilots managed to eject. The Defense Ministry notes that at all times during the flight the plane was only in Syrian territory. This is determined by objective methods of verification," the Ministry added.

09:07 24.11.2015

Turkish media has broadcast footage of a plane crashing into mountains near the Syrian border with Hatay province in southern Turkey, claiming that this is the jet that was shot down this morning.

09:13 24.11.2015

Russia's Interfax has reported that Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper to say that one of the two Russian pilots from the plane shot down near the Turkish border has been found and detained by local Turkmen in Syria, and the fate of the second pilot remains unknown.

Citing a report by the CNNTurk TV channel, Interfax says that after the pilots managed to eject, the plane fell on the Yamadi refugee camp in Latakia province.

The Interfax report was made shortly before the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the downed plane was a Russian jet.

09:18 24.11.2015

CNN Turk posted this image earlier of smoke rising from the hilltop where the Russian Su-24 jet crashed this morning.

09:23 24.11.2015

This is the information we have so far about the plane that was downed this morning in Syria near the Turkish border:

-- Turkish military officials have said that Turkish F-16 jets shot down a plane this morning after repeatedly warning its pilots that they were violating Turkish air space.

-- Video footage has emerged showing a plane crashing into the mountains in Latakia province.

-- Turkish news agencies say the plane crashed near the Yamadi refugee camp in Latakia province.

-- Russia's Defense Ministry have confirmed that the downed plane was a Russian Su-24 fighter jet.

-- Russia says that it can prove that the plane did not violate Turkish air space and that the plane was in Syrian air space the whole time.

-- Russia also says that the plane was shot down by surface to air fire -- not by an F-16.

-- The two pilots are believed to have ejected. There are reports that one was arrested by Syrian Turkmen but the fate of the other pilot is not yet known.

09:26 24.11.2015

Russia's Defense Ministry has tweeted in English to reiterate its earlier statement that the downed Russian Su-24 fighter jet was in Syrian air space and had not violated Turkish air space.

09:30 24.11.2015

Russia's Defense Ministry is also reporting that three Russian journalists have been lightly injured in Syria.

It seems the three journalists were embedded with the Syrian army.

The Defense Ministry is saying that the journalists' car was fired at from a TOW anti-tank missile. The incident happened yesterday, November 23.

The journalists have been returned to the Hmeymim air base for medical treatment.

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