MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Troops from Russia and Laos took part in the active phase of the Laros 2022 joint military drills, Alexander Mazur, Russian head of the counter-terror maneuvers, reported on Monday.

"Today, the Russian Armed Forces and the Laos People’s Army exercised jointly to practice joint operations and combat training tasks for blocking and eliminating outlawed armed gangs. Russian and Laotian troops gained the experience of joint actions to prepare for, organize and conduct combat operations in various types of warfare," Mazur said in a video released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

As the Russian head of the drills specified, the maneuvers involved about 100 items of military hardware and the assigned objectives were achieved. The active phase of the drills took part at the Ban Pan training ground on Laotian territory. A joint tactical airborne assault force was employed for the first time during the drills.

Armored, motorized infantry and reinforcement units of Russia’s Eastern Military District from the Primorsky Region and the Laos People’s Army practiced joint reconnaissance and search operations to uncover notional outlawed armed gangs. Following this, the crews of both countries advanced on T-72BMS tanks to designated areas, enjoying fire support of armored vehicles.

The participating troops gained advantageous frontiers and heights with the help of artillery and aircraft and seized a bridgehead in the assigned area.

"The troops of both countries practiced landing air assault units from military transport planes. In order to assist the troops advancing on the frontline, the landed air assault force attacked the notional enemy from the flank, foiling the plans of the defending outlawed armed gangs," the ministry said, adding that the battlegroup managed to rout notional terrorists.

Overall, the Laros 2022 joint Russia-Laos drills involve more than 800 troops from both countries.