Russia uses Iskander-M missiles for 1st time abroad

Russia used Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile for the first time abroad in the Dushanbe-Anti-Terror 2017 drills in Tajikistan.

Russia’s Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems were deployed for first time in Tajikstan last week, the Russian news agency Sputnik said.

Russian special forces are carrying out military drills on the Afghan-Tajik border and are searching for provisional outlawed armed groups as part of the exercises, Yaroslav Roshchupkin, the spokesman of Russian Central Military District, said Tuesday.

"Special operation units landed at he highland border military range Harbmaydon and started searching for outlawed armed groups, detecting of caravans with arms and drugs, locating training camps and provisional militant caches," the spokesman said.

According to Roshchupkin, after locating the militants, aviation, artillery and missile troops will move in to strike the uncovered targets.

Some 2,000 Russian troops and more than 300 equipment units are taking part in the joint drills dubbed Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017. 

The drills of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Anti-Terrorism Center, involving armed forces of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, are held for the first time and will last from May to June.

Source: MENA