Summary The military exercise will be held at King Khalid Military City in Hafr Al-Batin, northern Kingdom.
RIYADH (Web Desk / AFP) - Armed forces from around 20 countries including Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Senegal, Sudan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Chad, Tunisia, Comoros, Djibouti, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Egypt, Mauritania and Mauritius gathered in northern Saudi Arabia Sunday for “the largest, most important military manoeuvres” ever staged in the region, the official news agency SPA reported.
WATCH VIDEO:
The Pakistani troops arrive at King Saud Air Base — Exercise #NorthThunder pic.twitter.com/4OXTR7bhN1
— (@saikhamk) February 15, 2016
The military drill called Ra‘ad Al-Shamal (Thunder of the North) involving ground, air, and naval forces sends a “clear message” that Riyadh and its allies “stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region”, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia is currently leading a military campaign against Houthi rebels in its southern neighbor Yemen. Last December, it also formed a new 35-member coalition to fight "terrorism" in Islamic countries.
Brigadier Ahmad Asiri, the spokesperson for the Arab Coalition fighting to restore the rule of the internationally recognised government in Yemen, said that 21 countries would be participating in the drill.
“It will serve to boost fighting capabilities, exchange information, benefit from experiences and expertise and enhance coordination between the participating countries. There will be joint military command centres,” he said.
Assiri added that “when participating countries feel that there are coordinated and interdependent efforts, the results of the exercise will be positive. We have models based on real experience of being in the Arab coalition in Yemen where operations are running excellently and positively,” he was quoted by the daily as saying.
Earlier on Thursday, a Saudi source said that members of the new "anti-terrorism" coalition will gather in Saudi Arabia next month for its first publicly announced meeting.
Riyadh has said the alliance would share intelligence, combat violent ideology and deploy troops if necessary.
