Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Jan. 9

The Nigerian government has confirmed the death of 40 people out of 86 reported cases of Lassa fever outbreak in the country.

Minister of Health Isaac Adewole told a news conference late on Friday that the casualties were recorded in 10 states of the federation. (Nigeria-Lassa Fever)

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CAIRO -- Islamic State (IS) militant group said on Saturday in an online message that it was behind an armed attack targeting police officers in Egypt's Giza.

One traffic police officer and a soldier were killed on Saturday morning in the attack targeting their vehicle in Giza on the outskirts of capital Cairo, State-run MENA news agency reported. (Egypt-Attack)

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JERUSALEM -- Two Palestinians tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank before the troop shot and killed them early on Saturday morning, a military spokesperson said in a statement.

No Israelis were injured in the incident, which occurred near the Jewish settlement of Beka'ot in the northern West Bank's Jordan Valley, the spokesperson said. (Israel-Palestine-Violence)

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ISLAMABAD -- At least five militants were killed and several others injured when U.S. pilotless aircraft launched missile strikes in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Saturday, local media reported.

The militants killed included a top commander of outlawed organization Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and his four accomplices, the Urdu TV channel Express reported. (Pakistan-U.S. Drone-Strike)

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NEW DELHI -- At least two persons have been killed and six others injured in a blast in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya Saturday, a senior police official said.

The Improvised explosive device (IED) explosion took place around 13:15 p.m local time in the William Nagar market, where the headquarters of East Garo Hills district in Meghalaya is located. (India-Blast) Endi