CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and U.S. special forces on Thursday conducted a joint exercise with an aim to exchange expertise in combating terrorism, the Egyptian army said.
The training included "theoretical and practical lectures in fighting terrorism, means of dismantling explosive devices, and use of bullets from different weapons," said Tamer al-Refaay, spokesperson of the Egyptian armed forces, in a statement.
It came two days before the Bright Star 2018 drills slated for Sept. 8-20 in the Mohamed Naguib Base in west of the northern city of Alexandria.
Land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the U.S., Greece, Jordan, Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and France will take part in the drills.
The drills are meant to exchange expertise among participating forces, in order to hone their skills, develop operation and training mechanisms in combating terrorism, conduct joint planning and management of military operations, and train to deal with maritime security threat.
The Bright Star drills fall within the framework of the joint military exercises which the Egyptian Armed Forces conduct to promote military relations with friendly states, the statement added.
Egypt has been receiving annually from the United States about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in military and economic aid since it signed the 1979 U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel.
