A joint military exercise for servicemen of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan and the Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan were launched at the Lohour training ground, 20 kilometers southwest of Dushanbe, today.

According to the press center of Russia’s Central Military District, Russian servicemen completed a forced march to the Lohour training ground.

The exercise involving some 800 military personnel of both countries along with military hardware will close with a final phase featuring live-fire missions, an official source at a MoD told Asia-Plus in an interview.

The purpose of the exercise is reportedly to rehearse coordination and interaction in combat missions in mountains.