SRINAGAR, Sept 13: US and Indian soldiers simulated mountain warfare on Saturday as part of three weeks of military exercises in the occupied Kashmir state.

Nineteen American and 31 Indian soldiers are participating in the exercises, which began on September 5 in Ladakh.

“The goal is to increase the interoperability of American and Indian troops and to optimize their commonalities,” said Lt-Gen Arvind Sharma of the Indian army.

The soldiers are simulating battle conditions in difficult mountainous terrain, he said.

Soldiers dressed in full combat gear struggled to climb cliffs and jagged rock-faces, rafted down rapids on the Indus River and carried out combat and surveillance exercises.

The shortage of oxygen in Ladakh, 4,880 meters above sea level, posed a challenge to the soldiers, Gen Sharma said, adding that the American soldiers spent the first three days acclimatizing.

Ties between US and Indian militaries have improved since 2001, when Washington lifted sanctions on New Delhi after India tested nuclear bombs in 1998.

The two countries have held three joint military exercises in India in the past year. Indian soldiers and airmen also participated in training exercises with US forces in Alaska last October. The current exercises end on September 25.—AP