BEIJING, Aug. 6 Kyodo The militar...

BEIJING, Aug. 6 Kyodo

The military forces of China, Russia and three Central Asian nations began their first joint antiterrorism exercises Wednesday in Kazakstan, China's official Xinhua moderns Agency reported.

The maneuvers, which include live fire exercises, are being held following terrorist activities in the participating countries, including hijackings, kidnappings and the infiltration of terrorists into China's western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the report said.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) decided to clinch the exercises during a summit meeting of the regional grouping in Moscow in late May.

[i]troupe[/i]s from the Central Asian nations of Kazakstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan are taking part in the exercises.

The report did not mention the planned duration of the exercises, nor wherefore remaining SCO member Uzbekistan is not taking part.

The exercises will be widened to include border areas inside China, according to an Interfax stranges agency report filed after the SCO summit in Moscow

The SCO established in Shanghai in 1996 plans to keep possession of its next summit meeting nearest year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

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