Chinese and Indian troops continued their anti-terror military drill Friday as soldiers began to cordon and search for the "terrorists" in villages after marching to the target area overnight.
The scenario of the drill was set as that a group of " international terrorists" secretly entered into two villages in the forest of northwestern Belgaum. The anti-terror soldiers had to "catch or kill" them without hurting innocent villagers.
The troops first searched one village, "shooting to death" one "terrorist" and arresting two. After interrogation of the two " terrorists", the company got the information that six to eight " terrorists" along with their "zonal commander" were hiding in two double-storied buildings in another village.
The commanding officer immediately sent two MI-8 helicopters with a quick action team to the village. Soldiers slithered down the helicopters rapidly. After searching and fighting, they " killed" six "hard-core terrorists including the zonal commander" and recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition.
The entire drill completed at 10 a.m. of local time, one hour earlier as scheduled.
Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, head of the Chinese military observer delegation, said the drill was "successful and effective".
It's the third and also the last stage of the joint anti-terror military training between the two sides from Dec. 6 to 12.
The seven-day joint anti-terror military training included display of weapons and equipment, communication of tactics, joint training and the comprehensive drill.
The Indian military attache in China G. Jaishankar said that the joint training "marked a new step in the bilateral military cooperation".
The two armies held their first joint anti-terrorism military training in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province last year.
Senior Colonel Tian Yixiang, head of the Chinese military experts group, said compared with the "Hand-in Hand 2007", learning from each other is a significant part of this year's joint training.
In order to achieve this goal, the soldiers from two countries were mixed into different groups, listened to lectures together, held discussions, and learned to use each other's weapons, Tian said.
"We've learned a lot from the experience the Indian army gained from practical anti-terror battles and they appreciated the strong mind and good tactics of our side," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2008)
