Kyrgyz and US servicemen are rehearsing joint emergency and anti-terror operations in the country’s Batken region, Kyrgyzstan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday.

There are several scenarios for action in a hypothetical emergency situation including the provision of first aid and evacuation, the ministry press service said.

Those in need of evacuation will be airlifted by helicopter to the US airbase at Manas international airport, it added.

The drills will last through December 10. During this time the military field hospital deployed by the Defense Ministry will also be providing free medical assistance to local residents in the Batken region.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev announced plans in November last year to shut the base down by 2014, when the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is to be pulled out of Afghanistan.

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