Indo-Bangla Special Forces to hold joint drills

Under the exercises codenamed Operation Sampriti, Special Forces of India and Bangladesh will engage in two-week exercise in Agra starting in the last week of January till first week of February, Army officials said here.

The first phase of 'Op Sampriti' was held at Jorhat in Assam from November 1-4, 2010 while the second edition was held in Sylhet in Bangladesh in 2011.

Under the joint exercises, the two sides would practice counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations under the UN mandate.

Military ties between the two sides received a boost recently when Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh visited Dhaka in October last year.

India and Bangladesh share a long standing cooperation in area of defence. While India trains its Gentlemen Cadets, the two countries have also organised joint training and exercises in the last few years.