Armed forces from 20 countries have begun manoeuvres in northeastern Saudi Arabia that the official Saudi Press Agency described as the world’s biggest military exercises, in terms of the number of participating countries and military equipment.
The maneuver, titled “Thunder of the North”, will be held at the King Khaled Military City (KKMC) in Hafr Al-Batin, which is close to Iraqi and Iranian border.
The participating countries are-- Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Senegal, Sudan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Chad, Tunisia, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Egypt, Mauritania, and Mauritius.
Troops from the aforementioned countries started exercise and war games on Saturday and these involve ground, air and naval forces, SPA reported.
The exercise will also witness participation of a wide range of artillery, tanks, infantry, air defense systems, and naval forces in a simulation to reflect the highest level of preparedness of the 20 participating countries.
Saudi military insiders claim the exercise sends a clear message that the Kingdom and the participating countries joining the maneuver are standing together in the face of all challenges to preserve peace and stability in the region and the world at large.
Meanwhile, analysts said the exercise stresses that the leaderships of the participating countries fully agree with the kingdom’s vision on the importance of the protection of peace
It said a major goal of the exercise was to improve training in responding to the threat posed by “terrorist groups.”
Saudi Arabia has carried out air strikes against the Dae’sh group in Syria as part of a US-led coalition fighting the jihadists.
Last December, it also formed a new 35-member alliance to fight “terrorism” in Islamic countries.
Since last March, it has been leading a military campaign against Iran-backed rebels in its southern neighbour Yemen.