Saudi Arabia and Egypt concluded on Saturday the Tabuk 5 joint exercise, which was conducted by special forces from both countries in the Kingdom's northwest.
“The exercise comes within the framework of the Egyptian-Saudi armies’ plan to unify military concepts and exchange training expertise,” Egypt’s Military Spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said on Saturday.
The concluding phase included a military exercise on how to raid a village seized by terrorists. The Saudi and Egyptian special forces carried out parachute landings and free-jumping using gunship helicopters to clear and storm the fortified post, and ground units carried out support operations using live ammunition for light and heavy weapons.
The final phase of the drill was overseen by Commander of the Northwest Region Maj. General Hussein bin Saeed Al-Qahtani and a number of senior officers from both countries.
The Commander praised the distinguished level of the exercise and the effort made during the training stages, said a statement by the Egyptian military spokesman.
He also stressed the participants’ ability to carry out the required tasks with high efficiency and accuracy.
Separately, the Egyptian and French naval forces conducted on Saturday a passing exercise in the zone of Egypt’s Northern Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, with the participation of Egypt's Port Said stealth class frigate and France's La Provence frigate.
Spokesman Abdel-Hafez said the exercise is part of the Egyptian Armed Forces General Command’s plan to bolster the level of exercise and exchange expertise with the armed forces of friendly countries.
The training included combat activities, joint operations to fend off air attacks, sailing formations, and defense exercises against atypical threats, electronic warfare drills, and sea supply training.