MANAMA: Air forces from the United States and several Western and pro-Western Arab countries have started a joint exercise, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Sunday.
BNA did not give its exact location or duration but said that Bahrain’s armed forces chief of staff, Sheikh Duaij bin Salman Al-Khalifa, attended part of the drills on Sunday.
It said the exercise, which has been conducted almost every year since 1988, involves the United States, France, Italy, Australia, Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, had no immediate comment.
BNA said the Bahraini and Kuwaiti armed forces would also start joint drills in Bahrain on Monday. -AFP
