12 bombers practice in long-range drill

An elite bomber unit of the People's Liberation Army Air Force sent 12 H-6K bombers on Monday on a long-range combat training mission that is believed to be the Air Force's largest deployment of bombers in a single operation in recent years.

The unidentified bomber division, based in Shaanxi province, conducted the training to hone its strategic strike capability, a statement published by the Air Force on Tuesday said without elaborating.

Photographs released by the Air Force showed the bombers flying above what appeared to be bodies of water and islands.