Azerbaijan hosts joint drills with Turkey near Armenia

Azerbaijan's defense ministry announced on Monday it had begun joint drills with its ally Turkey near the border with Armenia, weeks after Baku re-control of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists.

In September, Azerbaijan took control of the long-disputed region in a 24 hour offensive that ended decades of Armenian separatist rule. The ministry said up to 3,000 troops would take part in the tactical drills held in capital Baku, the Nakhichevan exclave between Iran and Armenia, as well as territories retaken from Armenian separatists.