Article Posted on : - Sep 17, 2014

A file photo.

LUCKNOW (PTI): Indo-US combined military training exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 2014', part of an ongoing bilateral defence cooperation, started Wednesday in the foothills of Himalayas of Chaubattia in Uttarakhand.

The exercise was kicked off under the aegis of Garud Division/Surya Command and is 10th in the series of combined military training exercises between India and the US that will continue till Sep 30, an official release said.

Major General, Headquarter, Central Command, Ashwani Kumar welcomed the US soldiers and urged both contingents to achieve optimum cohesion and inter-operability to achieve military objectives of the exercise.

He stressed upon importance of free exchange of ideas and concepts between the troops and the necessity to learn from each others' experiences.

The focus of the ongoing exercise is to carry out counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in mountainous terrain under the United Nations (UN) charter.

The two week-long event will see the contingents hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in UN Peacekeeping scenario involving a Brigade Headquarter, an Infantry Company and a detachment of Special Forces.

State-of-the-art equipment for surveillance and tracking, specialist weapons for close quarter battle with terrorists, explosives and IED detectors, as well as the latest communication equipments are being fielded by both sides.

Both sides will train, plan and execute a series of well-developed combined tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peacekeeping operations.

The US contingent is represented by Company and Brigade Headquarters from an Infantry Division of the US Army while the Indian side is represented by an equivalent strength from a Mountain Brigade of Garud Division.

The Central Command of the Indian Army is based in Lucknow.