MINSK, 18 July (BelTA) – A rapid response unit of the interior troops of the Belarusian Interior Ministry and the Hunting Falcon special operations unit of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force staged a joint exercise to practice the counteraction of a terrorist group, which captured a town and took hostages, BelTA has learned.
The closing ceremony of the exercise took place in a training area of the Civil Protection University of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry in Borisov District on 18 July. Taking part in the closing ceremony were Belarusian Interior Minister Igor Shunevich, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Vashchenko, Deputy Interior Minister and Chief of the Interior Troops Yuri Karayev, Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council Andrei Vtyurin, and Chief of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force Wang Ning.
According to the scenario of the exercise, a group of 15 terrorists captured the town of Svetlaya Roshcha. The militants attacked the local police department, the town hall, and took hostages. Three teams of special operations forces were ordered to sweep the area and find the militants. Acting as twos and threes and supported by armored fighting vehicles, the special operations units captured some terrorists and shot those, who did not surrender. Some of the militants managed to hide in a train, in a bus, in an aircraft, and in the police building. The SWAT teams successfully captured and destroyed their targets at these locations.
Speaking about the counterterrorism exercise, Yuri Karayev noted that over the course of seven days Belarusian and Chinese special operations forces practiced working together in destroying a terrorist unit and managed to establish cohesion despite the language barrier. “The exercise was extremely successful,” stressed the Belarusian deputy interior minister. Limited usage of armored vehicles, combat imitation solutions, and blank rounds made the conditions of the exercise resemble a live combat operation as closely as possible.
Yuri Karayev praised the combat spirit and motivation of the Chinese special operations forces. The Chinese soldiers demonstrated endurance, good physique and shooting skills, he said.
Speaking about results of the exercise, Wang Ning noted that it is only the beginning, there are plans to step up cooperation with Belarus in fighting international terrorism. “International terrorism has become a common threat for the entire mankind. We make an active contribution to the fight against terrorism by training. We have achieved success in security matters. It is a good result. We intend to step up cooperation between our countries in the future,” he said.
The Belarusian-Chinese counterterrorism exercise United Shield 2017 took place in Belarus on 11-18 July. Representatives of the Belarusian and Chinese special operations forces practiced working together to destroy an illegal armed unit. Such exercises allow improving skills of commanding officers, who have to manage their troops as they carry out joint missions. The exercises also allow improving combat skills, morale, and psychological stability of the personnel.
