China training Afghans, Iraqis to clear mines

About 40 military officers from Iraq and Afghanistan are learning mine-clearing techniques in China, a country that has long been wary of US-led military operations in the two nations.

It is the first known time China has offered such training.

Although the training is taking place at a military facility in the eastern city of Nanjing, China is portraying the course as a kind of civilian humanitarian assistance, the official Xinhua News Agency said yesterday.