Egypt, 5 Arab nations conduct live ammunition ‘Arab Shield’ military drills

Military units from Egypt and five other Arab nations conducted war drills with live ammunition in the Egyptian desert west of Cairo on Thursday, AP said. The ‘Arab Shield’ drills were held in the western desert around the ‘Mohammed Naguib’ military base near the coastal Mediterranean city of Marsa Matrouh. The maneuvers, which bring together ground, naval and air units from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, are scheduled to end Friday. The drills involved target practice using rocket launchers, tanks and fighter jets. Cairo has been holding separate drills with each of the five Arab nations in recent years, but ‘Arab Shield’ marked the first time that all six allies simultaneously participated in war games.