This file photo taken on July 25, 2016 shows U.S. soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division taking position near a hut during a combined training exercise with Senegalese 1st Paratrooper Battalion in Thies, Senegal. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said on Friday that nearly 1,900 service members from 20 African and Western nations will participate in an annual military drill to be held in Africa later this month.

The drill, nicknamed "Flintlock," was an annual regional counter-terrorism exercise initiated by the United States in 2005.

The exercise will be conducted this year at multiple locations including Niger, Burkina Faso, and Senegal from April 9-20, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department.

Flintlock was U.S. Africa Command's annual and largest Special Operations Forces exercise, added the statement.

Troops from African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal, will participate in the war game, along with 12 western nations.