New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS): A joint "Maitree Exercise" between the Indian Army and the Royal Thai Army, designed to strengthen the partnership between the two forces, ended on Sunday in Thailand, the Defence Ministry said.

The annual two-week long platoon level exercise started on August 6.

"The exercise culminated with a 72-hour joint exercise on planning and execution of series of tactical operations like raid, pursuit, establishing military check post and cordon and search operations.

"Both the armies benefited immensely from each other's expertise and experience in conduct of tactical level counter terrorist operations," a Ministry statement said.

"The exercise helped in enhancing the cooperation between the two armies and bonhomie between the troops," it added.

The statement said the exercise began with a "cross training period involving familiarization training between the two armies to evolve drills and procedures involved in counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in urban, rural and jungle terrain under the UN mandate.

"The initial days of field training focused on familiarizing with each other's modus operandi, basic manoeuvres and evolving joint drills.

"The second phase included practicing of various drills and tactical scenarios in counter insurgency environment, execution of tactical operations like search and destroy operation, house intervention and survival techniques," said the statement.