13 October 2005 -- Several hundred troops and disaster relief teams from Ukraine, the United States, and 10 other countries today concluded a major NATO-sponsored antiterrorism exercise aimed at practicing joint responses to a chemical attack.
The four-day Joint Assistance 2005 drill, which was held near Ukraine's border with NATO-member Poland, concluded with a mock terrorist attack on a chemical facility, gun battles with pretend terrorists, and rescue operations.
Troops parachuted out of helicopters, soldiers set off stun grenades, and emergency crews fought a giant plume of fire and smoke.
Representatives of the NATO-led Department for Emergency Situations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were among the participants.
Some 30 countries also sent observers to the drill, which included a major deployment of field hospitals, rescue equipment, and armored vehicles.
(AP)
For more news about NATO expansion, see NATO Enlargement
Troops parachuted out of helicopters, soldiers set off stun grenades, and emergency crews fought a giant plume of fire and smoke.
Representatives of the NATO-led Department for Emergency Situations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were among the participants.
Some 30 countries also sent observers to the drill, which included a major deployment of field hospitals, rescue equipment, and armored vehicles.
(AP)
For more news about NATO expansion, see NATO Enlargement