Last British Fleet Crosses Suez Canal for Joint Drills in OmanThe last British fleet of four warships to join military exercises in the Gulf state of Oman crossed the Suez Canal Monday morning and sailed on southwards.The fleet included the HMS Illustrious aircraft carrier, one nuclear submarine and two other warships. Last Friday, the first five-warship British fleet went through the Suez Canal via the Mediterranean, and one day later, the second fleet grouping the HMS Ocean gunship carrier, Super B nuclear submarine and destroyer Fearless passed the international waterway. It is not yet known if the British warships will join the widely -speculated U.S. strike against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The British Defense Ministry announced in July that Britain would hold a joint military exercise with Oman in the middle of October. More than 2,000 British soldiers will take part in the fortnight war games, code-named "Swift Sword II," which will involve a total of 38,000 troops. Omani Deputy Chief of Staff Saud Al-Habsi has already confirmed the upcoming maneuvers, saying that around 114 fighter jets and 36 warships will join the joint military operations in the Gulf region. |
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