Egypt to host war games with US for second straight year

CAIRO – Egypt’s military says it will host war games with U.S. troops next month for the second straight year.

Thursday’s statement from the military’s spokesman says the “Bright Star” exercise will run from Sept. 8-20.

U.S. Central Command said in a Thursday statement that approximately 800 U.S. troops will participate.

The first “Bright Star” exercise took place in 1980, but the Obama administration postponed them in 2011, following the uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak, and scrapped them in 2013, after Egyptian security forces killed hundreds of protesters while breaking up a mass sit-in.

Last September, Egypt held the war games with U.S. troops for the first time in eight years.

The exercise is typically biannual. It was unclear why it will be held two years in a row.