SCO conducts counter-terrorism exercises in Kyrgyzstan

Moscow, May 30 (UNI) Shangahi Cooperation Organization (SCO), a key regional security group, in Central Asia, today launched active phase of joint counter-terrorism exercises at the Issyk Kul Lake in eastern Kyrgyzstan.

The Issyk Kul Anti-terror 2007 exercises involved special forces units and law enforcement agencies of the SCO member-states, and are being held at military training grounds by Lake Issyk Kul, a spokesman told RIA Novosti news agency.

''The main goal of the exercise was to practice inter-operability between security bodies, police and the military in large-scale operations aimed against terrorists, illegal militant groups and border trespassers,'' the chairman of the Kyrgyz State Committee on National Security, Murat Sutalinov said.

The group including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, was set up after the collapse of the Soviet Union to deal with radical Islamic extremism and other security threats in Central Asia, but recently it has expanded it to include cooperation in disaster relief and trade.

Later, India, Pakistan and Mongolia joined the group as observers. The SCO is scheduled to hold its summit on June 15.

UNI