Opinions vary as to what was the aim of their incursion into the remote southwest of Kyrgyzstan.
The Uzbeks still argue that the Islamist force was made up largely of ethnic Uzbeks and that their aim was clearly to infiltrate Uzbekistan's populous Fergana valley, the most pro-Islamic region of the country. The Kyrgyz authorities, however, disagree. They think the aim was to turn the mountains in Kyrgyzstan overlooking Fergana into a semi-permanent 'Islamic Zone', from which to spread their influence in all directions. Whatever the truth, all the Central Asian governments, and Russia, want to prevent it happening again. Their joint exercises were aimed, it's said, at counteracting 'trans-national terrorism' and ensuring the security of the whole region.