Special Force troops from Israel came to Cyprus to train with the island’s soldiers to practice urban and mountain warfare, the second joint drill this year, officers from both sides said.

The Israeli Commander said the military exercise simulated “generic” scenarios that could happen in any type of warfare, though he acknowledged that the mountains and woods of Cyprus bear some resemblance to those of Lebanon, the home country of the Hezbollah terrorist group, the Times of Israel wrote.
The Oketz K9 unit and Artillery Corps’ “Sky Riders” unit, which operates small drones, also took part in the exercise, alongside other special forces units, said the commander, whose name could not be published for security reasons.

The Israeli Air Force also sent aircraft so pilots could practice their skills by flying over new terrain, a senior IDF official said.  The pilots were “flying in an unfamiliar area, a place where navigation is difficult, where landing is difficult,” the official said.

In June, approximately 500 soldiers from the Egoz commando unit, along with representatives from a number of other special forces units, traveled to Cyprus for a similar exercise.  the Mediterranean island nation for a similar exercise.

The Israeli and Cypriot troops simulated war conditions and a variety of scenarios, from fighting inside buildings to long treks through the mountains, the special forces officer told the newspaper. In October, Cypriot soldiers traveled to Israel in order to train with Egoz.
“We fought shoulder to shoulder with them,” the special forces commander said.