Egyptian Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy returned home on Saturday after attending the final stage North Thunder drills in Saudi Arabia.

Egypt was the second state with regard to the number of its armed forces taking part in the three-week pan-Arab and Islamic exercises.

The drills are the largest military drills in the region with the participation of Egypt and more than 20 other Islamic and Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Senegal, Sudan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Chad, Tunisia, Comoros, Djibouti, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Mauritania and Mauritius.

The move comes just months after Saudi Arabia formed an anti-terror coalition of 34 mainly Muslim nations.

Source: MENA