Turkish army chief attends EFES-2018 military drill

IZMIR, Turkey

Turkey's top military general has attended in international military exercises held in the western Aegean province of Izmir.

Turkish Chief of the General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar was among the 65 observers and representatives from 38 countries attended the “Distinguished Observer Day” on Thursday in the daytime session on the fourth day of EFES 2018 Combined Joint Military Exercise.

Among the observers of the live-fire military drill were Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Col. Gen. Zakir Hasanov, army chiefs of Georgia, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kuwait, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Qatar, and Romania, and the commander of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, Gen. Raheel Sharif.

Around 7,500 military personnel is on duty at the exercise, while 945 of them are from ally and friendly nations of the U.S, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, the U.K., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Algeria, Georgia, Italy, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Hungary, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Romania, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

The exercise in Seferihisar is being held from May 7 till 11.

Reporting by Halil Sahin; Writing by Kubra Chohan