Eight nations hold drill in Kazakhstan
10:33, 11 August 2013
BEIJING. August 11. KAZINFORM An annual joint peacekeeping military drill, dubbed "Steppe Eagle 2013", has kicked off near the Kazakhstan city of Almaty.
Over 1,600 military personnel from eight countries, including Kazakhstan, the U.S., Britain, Italy, Lithuania, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, will join in the two-week exercise.
The drill aims to battle extremism and terrorism by improving the combat abilities and peacekeeping coordination of participating armed forces, Xinhua reports.
The annual drill began in 2003. It's conducted within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.