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Over 1,600 troops take part in military drill in Latvia

Xinhua, April 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Over 1,600 soldiers are taking part in Summer Shield XIII multinational military training exercise, being held in Adazi Training Area near Riga from April 17-29, the Latvian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The aim of the drill is to train soldiers to integrate combat support and service capabilities in defense operations on the battalion and brigade levels, Latvian military news website sargs.lv reported.

Latvian units are taking part in the maneuvers alongside servicemen from Lithuania, United States, Canada, Finland and Germany.

Operation Summer Shield has been held in Latvia annually since 2004. Initially, it was a battalion-level exercise intended to prepare soldiers for participation in coalition forces' operation in Iraq.

Since 2014, Summer Shield has been included in the list of NATO-led drills and exercises and is open to participants from any of the Alliance's member states. Last year's Summer Shield XII exercise was joined by 1,100 troops. Endit