DUSHANBE, April 20, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A two-day joint anti-terror drill of member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), dubbed Norak-Antiterror 2009, was conducted at the Fakhrobod training ground in the Khatlon province, some 50 kilometers to the south of Dushanbe, on April 17-18.

According to Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a chief spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), 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 was conducted in two stages involved 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 was to rehearse coordination and interaction in antiterrorist missions.

The exercise that involved military personnel along with armored vehicles, artillery and aircraft closed on April 18 featuring life-fire missions with combat helicopters.  Representatives of defense and civilian institutions structures from the CIS and other countries observed the exercise, the spokesman said.