Indian special forces and the US Marines will hold their second counter-insurgency exercise in the army's elite jungle warfare school at Vairengte in Mizoram next month. "This will be a follow-up to a similar exercise held with the Marines last year," a top army official said on Thursday.

Sixty US Marines and an equal number of Indian troops drawn from the Eastern Command will take part in the anti-terrorism drill, which will last for more than 10 days. The interaction between the land forces of the two countries will follow the biggest-ever multi-nation naval exercise to be held during September 4-8 in the Bay of Bengal, in which frontline warships from both India and the US will take part.

The counter-insurgency war-game at Vairengte is part of the annual 'Vajra Prahar' series of exercises between the land forces of the two countries. It will be followed by a joint anti-insurgency exercise in a high altitude area in the middle of November, officials said. No venue has been fixed so far for the high-altitude exercise. Last year, the two countries held such an exercise at Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir [Images]. Some Marines, who will participate in the Vajra Prahar exercise, will take part after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Marines, who participated in an exercise in the Vairengte  jungle warfare school had described the experience as a "great learning loop".

Before practicing counter-insurgency tactics with the US forces, the Indian Army will conduct its first anti-terror exercise with Thai forces at Ranchi in Bihar. A company of troops from Thailand will join with an equal number of troops from the Sikh Regimental Centre at Ramgarh.