DUSHANBE, April 10, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Internal Troops of the Ministry of Interiors (MoI) of Tajikistan have marked their 18th anniversary today.

On this occasion, an exercise for the internal troops is being conducted at the training ground, Regar, some 60 kilometers west of Dushanbe, today.  The exercise will close with a final phase featuring live-fire missions, the source at a MoI said.

The purpose of the exercise is to rehearse coordination and interaction in missions against organized criminal armed groups and well as armed extremists and drug traffickers.

Minister of Interiors Abdurahim Qahhorov is in overall command of the ongoing war game.

Established on April 10, 1992, the Internal Troops of Tajik MoI is a military unit subordinated to the MoI.  They are used to support and reinforce the police, deal with large-scale riots, internal armed conflicts, and safeguarding of highly-important facilities in the country.  The internal troops have participated in all special operations such as Molniya (Lightning), Mak (Poppy), etc.