A spokesperson for the Chinese defense ministry said Thursday that China and Russia will send over 1,500 troops to attend joint counter-terrorism drills slated for later this week.

Geng Yansheng said the Peace Mission-2013 drills will be in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountainous region from July 27 to August 15.

"The Chinese troops, equipped with various models of armed vehicles, self-propelled guns, and fixed-wing and rotating-wing aircraft, will attend the drills including a planning panel, a command group, an infantry combat group, an air force combat group and a logistics group," said Geng, adding that the drills will have three phases, including troop deployment, war planning and campaign drills.