New Delhi: The Indian Army will participate in a two-week multi-nation military exercise at Nizhny in Russia beginning Friday that is aimed at boosting anti-terror cooperation. Over a dozen countries will take part in the 'Zapad' exercise which will primarily focus on anti-terror operations, officials said.

China and Pakistan are also expected to take part in the exercise as observers.

The defence ministry said a contingent of 200 personnel of the Indian Army will participate in an exercise that is taking place from September 3-16. "Zapad is one of the theatre level exercises of Russian armed forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists," it said.

"The Naga Battalion group participating in the exercise will feature an all Arms combined task force. The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations," the ministry said. "The Indian contingent has been put through a strenuous training schedule which encompasses all facets of conventional operations including mechanised, airborne and heliborne, counter-terrorism, combat conditioning and firing," it said.

Separately, the Indian and Kazakh armies began a 13-day military exercise on Wednesday.

"The India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise "KAZIND-21" commenced today at training Node Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan," said an official.

It is the fifth edition of the annual bilateral exercise by both armies. The fourth edition of the exercise was held at Pithoragarh in September 2019.

A total of 90 personnel from the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army are participating in the exercise.

The scope of the exercise includes professional exchange, planning and execution of operations in a counter-terrorism environment and sharing of expertise.

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