Joint anti-terrorist exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Tajikistan have begun at the Harb-Maidon training ground in Khatlon province of Tajikistan.  The active phase of the exercises is taking place from April 7 to 11, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

During the exercises, military contingents from both countries are practicing organizing joint actions to eliminate terrorist groups, as well as preparing units to perform tasks in mountainous terrain.

"The main stage of the maneuvers will be the joint operation to eliminate illegal armed formations, as well as the management of units during the defense of the state border and the destruction of breaching armed groups," said the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The core of the Russian military contingent consists of units from the 201st Russian Military Base (RMB) of the Central Military District: mountain, motorized rifle, tank, artillery, reconnaissance units, and crews of the aviation group with Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8MTV5-1 transport and combat helicopters.

In addition, specialists in communication, operators of strike FPV drones, reconnaissance UAVs, and mobile groups for electronic warfare will be involved in the maneuvers.

The mountainous desert training ground Harb-Maidon is located about 20 kilometers from the Tajik-Afghan border.

The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is subordinate to the Central Military District.  It is Russia's largest non-naval military facility outside the country.

It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.

A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are now stationed at two military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base - in Dushanbe and Bokhtar (formerly Qurghon Teppa), some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe.  Its structure includes motorized rifle, tank, artillery, reconnaissance units, as well as air defense, radiation, chemical, and biological protection, and communication units.