Security

In photos: Kyrgyz military conducts anti-terrorism drills

Officials warn of the human costs that extremist delusions have inflicted on Kyrgyzstan.

Erkin Kamalov

2017-10-03

A helicopter crew participates in the Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017 exercise in Bayet, Issyk-Kul Province, September 16. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Troops storm a building during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. "During the exercises, officers and enlisted personnel checked the efficiency of arrangements for alerting the public during the type of crisis that arises when terrorists seize hostages or strategic facilities," said GKNB official Rakhmat Sulaimanov. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Participants carry an "injured" soldier during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Troops take care of a 'wounded' comrade during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. "The [GKNB]'s Anti-Terrorist Centre, created in 2011, is developing a framework for a common government policy on fighting terrorism, and the exercises that [troops hold build up experience for combat operations against modern threats," Bishkek political analyst Marat Alymbekov told Caravanserai. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Troops charge a hypothetical terrorist stronghold during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. Kyrgyz troops regularly train to protect strategic facilities, including power plants, transport and communication centres and public places. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Troops dash forward in Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

Firefighters douse a blaze during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror 2017. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

ISSYK-KUL PROVINCE, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyzstan is training its troops and other citizens in an effort to curb extremism and raise awareness.

Thirty-three residents of Jalal-Abad Province have been killed so far in combat in Syria and Iraq, Yerlan Myrzayev, a State National Security Committee (GKNB) official, said in a speech in Jalal-Abad city in September, according to Kabar.kg. Myrzayev was attending a meeting of a co-ordination council overseeing public safety, defence and emergency response.

Since the start of 2016, "we have conducted 'Hypothetical Terrorist' training operations 31 times in the province", said Myrzayev at the council session.

"In addition, we held events with managers and employees at strategic facilities to bolster security," he said.

Troops storm a building during Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror-2017 in Bayet, Issyk-Kul Province, September 16. [Kyrgyz State National Security Committee]

In an effort to teach troops the teamwork needed to rescue hostages and defuse improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the Kyrgyz military conducted the Issyk-Kul Anti-Terror-2017 exercises in Bayet village, Issyk-Kul Province, September 16.