Beijing - Police in Beijing held a drill on Saturday for a
terrorist attack similar to the one last month in Mumbai, state
media said Sunday.
The drill followed a scenario that terrorists had 'rocked the city
with a series of explosions and kidnapped hostages' at an
international hotel used for the exercise, the government's official
Xinhua news agency said.
The Chinese capital held the drill to 'boost its response
capabilities against Mumbai-style militant attacks,' the agency
said.
The agency showed photographs of the Beijing Special Armed Police
Unit using a helicopter and abseiling ropes to drop commandos into
the hotel and rescue hostages.
'The drill was aimed at preventing terrorist attacks, especially
after the Mumbai attack which had definite targets and a careful
plan,' Xiao Yong, the head of the special forces unit, was quoted as
saying.
'We noticed that the terrorists attacked different sites in the
city (Mumbai) in different ways such as explosions, shooting,
kidnapping and a gunfight with the police,' Xiao said
'We have done thorough research on different kinds of attacks and
made a complete and cohesive counter-terrorism plan,' he said.
The special forces members receive comprehensive training and are
each given weapons and equipment costing more than 300,000 yuan
(44,000 dollars), the agency said.
The Chinese government reported several attacks on police by
alleged terrorists in its far western region of Xinjiang in the
run-up to this year's Beijing Olympics, and claimed that some
captured suspects had confessed to plotting attacks in Beijing during
the games.
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