10,000 troops from 18 countries suit up for Jordan war games

AMMAN: Jordan has kicked off a two-week military exercise with some 10,000 participants from 18 countries, many members of a US-led military coalition against the Islamic State group, which controls much of neighboring Iraq and Syria.
Jordan’s fifth “Eager Lion” annual war games highlighting the aerial, ground and naval exercises come as a US-led coalition battles the Islamic State group in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
Several other Arab states have joined a Saudi-led coalition carrying out air strikes on rebels in Yemen.
Even so, “Eager Lion has nothing to do with what is currently happening in the region,” US major general Rick Mattson told reporters in Amman. “The more we work together the stronger we are.” Mattson said the drill would include responses to conventional and unconventional threats, including border security.
Troops from the US and Jordan, military contingents from several nearby Arab states and troops from France, Italy and Pakistan will take part in drills in the Jordanian desert.
Jordan’s Brig. Gen. Fahad Al-Damen, in charge of joint training, told reporters on Tuesday that the rise of extremist groups mandates cooperation “to fight all aspects and types of terrorism.”
Jordan has intensified its air raids against IS since the terrorists burned alive one of its pilots who crashed in Syria earlier this year, but there are fears its participation in US-led strikes could drag the kingdom into nearby conflicts.
Since the last drill, IS has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq and is seen as a threat to Jordan’s stability.