Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Jan. 6

Russia began a phaseout of its military presence in Syria on Friday, with the withdrawal of its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov from the Mediterranean, said Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. (Russia-Syria-Withdrawal)

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TIKRIT, Iraq -- Islamic State (IS) militants attacked an army base and police station at a village in Iraq's Salahudin province, killing 8 soldiers killed, including a senior officer, a provincial security source told Xinhua on Friday. (Iraq-IS-Attack)

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PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan -- Unknown armed men shot dead 13 civilians and injured three others in Tala-o-Barfak district of the northern Baghlan province on Friday, district governor Faiz Mohammad Amiri said. (Afghanistan-Armed Men)

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COPENHAGEN -- The Prosecutor General Office of Denmark has received the official request from South Korean authorities for extradition of imprisoned Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a longtime confidante of South Korea's impeached president Park Geun-hye, local authorities said on Friday. (Denmark-South Korea-Extradition)

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ANKARA -- Turkish authorities have no doubt that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the bomb attack in Izmir that killed two people, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Friday. (Turkey-PKK-Bomb Attack) Endi