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Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Jan. 20

Xinhua, January 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Islamic State (IS) group confirmed Tuesday the killing of its notorious executioner, known as Jihadi John, in a drone strike in northern Syria last year.

In the latest issue of the IS official newspaper, Dabiq, the terror group confirmed that Jihadi John, who made the headlines around the world media, was killed in a drone strike in Syria's northern al-Raqqa province, the de facto capital of the IS group. (Syria-IS-Executioner)

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CAIRO -- Twenty Egyptians held captive by Libyan militia groups were released and received by Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi at the Cairo international airport, state-run Ahram online reported on Tuesday.

"We won't leave any Egyptians in danger in Libya or anywhere else," Sisi told journalists at the airport. (Egypt-Libya-Militants)

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BUJUMBURA -- Unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle Monday evening shot dead three officials in a bar at Bwiza, near the Burundian capital Bujumbura's city center, before riding away, the Burundian police spokesman said Tuesday.

"It was yesterday (Monday) around 17:45 (1545 GMT) when unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle shot dead three persons with a pistol in a bar at the 6th Avenue in Bwiza, before riding away in their motorcycle," said Burundian Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye. (Burundi-Gunshot)

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GENEVA -- An UN human rights expert on Tuesday warned that some 400,000 people living in 15 besieged locations throughout Syria are trapped in desperate circumstances and in urgent need of emergency assistance.

"With many families unable to move, and food becoming scarce, expensive, and risky to access, starvation and hunger is now a grave threat that affects over 4 million Syrians living in hard to reach areas," Hilal Elver, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, noted. (UN-Syria-Refugee)

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UNITED NATIONS -- More than 18,800 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 36,000 wounded during the 22-month long period between Jan. 1, 2014 and Oct. 31, 2015, said deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq at a daily briefing, citing a UN report released Tuesday.

Another 3.2 million people have become internally displaced since January 2014, including more than a million children of school age, according to the report. (UN-Iraq-Civilians) Endi