Int'l Steppe Eagle-2011 tactical drills begin in Kazakhstan

ASTANA (Itar-Tass) - The Steppe Eagle-2011 international
tactical exercises involving Kazakhstan's peacekeeping units Kazbrig and
Kazbat, and soldiers from the United State and Great Britain begin on
Monday at the Iliski training ground in Kazakhstan's Almaty region.
Such exercises have been held since 2003, a spokesman for the Kazakh
defence ministry said, adding that this year the drill for the first will
involve servicemen from Lithuania and Kyrgyzstan. Soldiers from Tajikistan
were also invited to take part but the Tajik defence ministry opted not to
send its troops because of preparations for festivities on the occasion of
the country's 20th independence anniversary.
This year, the drills will be held on a wider area than before, the
spokesman said. Thus, apart from the Iliski ground, the exercises will
involved the Shoshkala training ground, the Novo-Iliski airfield, and the
Bereg traning centre.
The drill involving more than 1,400 soldiers will be conducted within
two weeks and will be monitored by military observers from foreign
countries, NATO experts and representative of military diplomatic missions accredited in Kazakhstan.