KARS, Turkey

A winter military drill continues in northeastern Turkey with the participation of Azerbaijani officers.

At a press conference held at the 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command stationed in Kars province, Col. Safak Oguz briefed journalists Wednesday on the content of the Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) Winter-2021 Drill after showing video footage of the drill.

As part of drill scenario, a joint team of Turkish and Azerbaijani special forces held an operation on an enemy base detected by drones.

A team of maroon berets, an elite military force of the Turkish army, were deployed to the hostile zone via helicopter. A bridge was targeted by ATAK helicopters after hostile elements were neutralized by the ground forces.

Once the enemy base was destroyed, commando units lit illumination flares to rendezvous with friendly helicopters that ran a smooth pick-up operation.

The exercise sought to boost cooperation and coordination in joint operations, and also served as an opportunity for Turkey to test its military hardware.

Military officers aimed to better understand the capabilities of ground units under severe winter conditions, and improve logistics and maintenance practices in a challenging environment.

A total of 1,268 military personnel participated in the drill, with dozens of different vehicles and weapons used.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas