As part of an international antiterrorism exercise, dubbed Dushanbe-Anti-Terror 2017, a joint drill was conducted for Special Forces units of Tajikistan and Russia in Dushanbe on May 31.
The exercise scenario was based on terrorists seizing the Dushanbe TV center and taking hostages.
The main purpose of the exercise was to rehearse coordination and interaction in missions to free hostages and facilities from terrorists.
Commenting on the counterterrorism drill conducted in Dushanbe, the SCNS head Saymumin Yatimov noted that Tajikistan was a buffer for Central Asian nations, Russia and Europe
Besides, a meeting of heads of the national anti-terrorism centers of the CIS member nations took place in Dushanbe yesterday. The CIS Anti-Terrorism Center (CIS ATC) Head Andrey Novikov, Tajik President’s National Security Adviser Sherali Khairulloyev, Head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Tajikistan Saymumin Yatimov, Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo, and Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda also participated in the meeting.
The meeting of chiefs of the national anti-terrorism centers of the CIS member nations has been held annually since 2008. The joint activity of the CIS ATC and national anti-terrorism centers of the CIS member nations reportedly makes it possible to frame and implement common approaches to security of the CIS member nations and adequately react to the contemporary security challenges.
Demonstration of military hardware was also held in Dushanbe on May 31.
Meanwhile, a three-day active phase of the Dushanbe-Anti-Terror 2017, involving 3000 Tajik military personnel and some 2,000 Russian troops, along with armored vehicles, artillery, and aviation, is concluding at the training grounds of Harbmaydon and Lohour in Tajikistan today.
During the maneuvers, a combined force of ground forces supported by aircraft are honing their skills in combating terrorist groups, countering illegal armed units in mountainous areas along with peacekeeping operation elements.
Russian authorities said on May 19 that Sukhoi Su-24M frontline bombers from the southern Urals and Mi-8 and Mi-24 military helicopters from the city of Novosibirsk, had been deployed to Tajikistan for the maneuvers.
Besides, Russia has sent Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems to Tajikistan for military drills, the first time Moscow has moved this type of missile to the Central Asian country.
Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, the commander of Russia's Central Military District troops, said on May 25 in the city of Yekaterinburg that the missile system will be used in the Dushanbe-Anti-Terror 2017 military maneuvers.
Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017 is the first exercise conducted by the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center with the involvement of the armed forces of the CIS member nations. Earlier reports said that the exercises would be held in May and June in six countries (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), with the final stage being held in Tajikistan.
The CIS Anti-Terrorism Center (CIS ATC) was established by the decision of the CIS Council of the Heads of State of June 21, 2000 and is a permanent specialized institution of the CIS. The CIS ATC provides coordination of activity of the CIS competent authorities in the sphere of combating international terrorism and other acts of extremism.
The legal status, main missions, functions, components and organizational basis of the CIS ATC activity are governed by the regulation on the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center approved by the decision of the CIS Council of Heads of State of December 1, 2000.
The Council of the Heads of Security Bodies and Special Services of the CIS member-states executes principal management of the Center's activity.
The CIS ATC is staffed on the coalition ground in accordance with the quota of posts envisaged by the Center's establishment. Today the CIS ATC's team includes the representatives of the national security agencies and special services, Internal Affairs and Defense Ministries of the Commonwealth member-states.
Russia routinely holds counterterrorism drills in Tajikistan, as well as in other countries across the former Soviet Union. In March, Russia and Tajikistan held bilateral counterterrorism drills.
