Tajik-French anti-terrorist exercise begins in Tajik mountains

DUSHANBE, May 26 (Itar-Tass) - A joint Tajik-French anti-terrorist
exercise began near the Fakhrabad pass, in southern Tajikistan on
Thursday, the head of the Tajik Defense Ministry's press center, Faridun
Makhmadaliyev, told Itar-Tass.
Taking part in the maneuvers is a mobile unit of the Tajik Armed
Forces and about 100 French mountain troops.
According to Makhmadaliyev, the exercise is designed "to practice
joint actions in a mountain area, better combat skills, mobility and
maneuverability and exchange information on the possible location of
terrorist groups."
The exercise will be held in two phases. The final one will take place
in the hardly accessible Romit gorge in eastern Tajikistan, where a real
large-scale antiterrorist operation was conducted not so long ago.
Makhmadaliyev said the two defense ministries had an agreement on
close military-technical cooperation, including joint exercises.
Tajikistan's Dushanbe international airport hosts a group of French
Air Force personnel providing support for the troops of the international
coalition in Afghanistan.