Putin Orders Partial Troop Withdrawal From Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to start withdrawing a "significant portion" of its forces from Syria. Putin said that after a two-year military campaign, Moscow and Damascus had achieved the goal of destroying the Islamic State extremist group. Putin made the announcement during a surprise visit to Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria's Latakia Province on December 11 where he held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and addressed Russian servicemen. (Kremlin pool via Reuters)