DUSHANBE, April 17, 2009, Asia-Plus — A two-day joint anti-terror drill of member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), dubbed Norak-Antiterror 2009, is beginning at the Fakhrobod training ground in the Khatlon province today.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a chief spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), said the exercise was conducted as part of a common plan and in accordance with an appropriate decision of the SCO anti-terror center.
“The exercise that is conducted in two stages involves operational groups and special units of the armed forces of Tajikistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia,” Mahmadaliyev said, noting that the purpose of the exercise is to rehearse coordination and interaction in antiterrorist missions.
The exercise involves military personnel along with armored vehicles, artillery and aircraft and representatives of defense and civilian institutions structures from the CIS and other countries are observing the exercise, the spokesman said.
