BREAKING NEWS

Russia-led bloc to hold new military drills amid Afghan crisis - report

The Russian-led CSTO security alliance will conduct military exercises from September to October involving several thousand troops, the Interfax news agency cited the bloc as saying on Friday.

The drills will place in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, it said.

The US exit from Afghanistan has created a security headache for Moscow, which sees former Soviet Central Asia as part of its southern defensive flank and fears the spread of radical Islamism.