The final stage of the large-scale Russian-Mongolian military exercise, Selenga-2017, was held in the Mongolian part of the Gobi Desert on Thursday, the Russian Eastern Military District’s press service said.

‘The final stage of the active phase of the Russian-Mongolian Selenga-2017 military exercise was held at the Zuunbayan training ground in Mongolia. During the active phase, the servicemen of the two countries  conducted a counter-terrorism operation, in which a simulated large illegal armed formation was destroyed in a rapid assault,’ the press service said in a statement.

The operation involved more than 1,000 servicemen and about 200 pieces of military hardware.

This year, the Selenga exercise was held for the first time in extreme climate of the Gobi Desert. It became the largest military exercise for the Mongolian armed forces in the past three years.