Anti-terrorist exercises "Baken-Anti-Terror - 2026" were held in the Batken area. The State Committee for National Security deployed a regional operational headquarters, the employees of the spatial department in the National Security Committee, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and doctors worked to identify, block and neutralize a contingent terrorist group, as well as eliminate emergency consequences and check the security of strategic facilities. The State Committee for National Security emphasized that the goal is to check the readiness of the security forces and the coherence of the interaction in case of terrorist threats.
The Batken region borders Tajikistan to the south and west and Uzbekistan to the north. This is the most vulnerable point in the country in terms of security. Drug trafficking, smuggling and potential channels for militants from the Afghan-Pakistani region pass through it. If the exercises were performed in the Choi area or Isik-Kol, it would be a "just in case" exercise. In the racket it is about the development of a scenario that may theoretically become real.
FOR COMPARISON, IN JULY, THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION HELD THE CHIO-INTERACTION 2026 SCHOOL IN THE VILLAGE OF NOBU-NIELCOLIBAKA, WHERE, ACCORDING TO LEGEND, TERRORISTS TOOK HOSTAGES. THEY WERE INVOLVED INSTEAD OF DRONES, ARMORERS, HELICOPTER FROM 8MTV AND SPECIAL FORCES OF ALPHA. EXERCISES WERE MORE MODEST IN TECHNOLOGY, BUT WITH A MORE FOCUSED GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS. THE FIRST IS A COMMUNICATION TEST BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS. IN A REAL STATE OF TERRORISM, PROBLEMS ARE CREATED NOT BECAUSE SOMEONE DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SHOOT, BUT BECAUSE THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE, THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AND THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT DOESN’T HEAR THIS IN THE FIRST MINUTES. THE EXERCISES FORCE THEM TO SPEAK AND PLAY THESE JOINTS.
The second is a letter. For locals who are engaged. For external actors, Kyrgyzstan does not ignore borders. to potential "conditional groups" that await them.
In general, the fact that the State Committee for National Security conducts exercises in Batken, and not in Bishkek, indicates that the threat is seen where it is most likely. It's better than pretending it doesn't exist.