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Indonesia conducts massive anti-terrorism drills
Indonesian security forces stormed airports, glitzy hotels, passenger ships and the Jakarta Stock Exchange building Sunday in a massive anti-terrorism drill in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
- AP
- Published: 11:45 December 21, 2008
Jakarta: Indonesian security forces stormed airports, glitzy hotels, passenger ships and the Jakarta Stock Exchange building Sunday in a massive anti-terrorism drill in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
About 7,000 police, soldiers and emergency-response workers were taking part in the exercise held in six major cities, including the capital, Jakarta, and on the popular resort island of Bali.
Indonesian television broadcast live footage of black-clad counterterrorism forces dropping by helicopter onto the roof of the 5-star Borobudur Hotel before blasting through windows to release screaming hostages, leaving a trail of shattered glass.
In another scenario at a local airport, mock-terrorists seized an airplane carrying the president, killing the pilot and dumping the body onto the tarmac. After a 90-minute standoff, security forces overpowered the ransom-demanding militants.
Similar drills were held on Bali, which has suffered suicide bombings in 2002 and 2005 that killed more than 220 people, many of them foreign tourists.
Security forces also stormed a ship in the Strait of Malacca, among the world's busiest shipping lanes, in a bid to free hundreds of passengers seized in another mock-raid.
"The important thing we have to underline is the coordination and cooperation between the police and armed forces," said Widodo Adisucipto, coordinating minister for security. "We will evaluate to see what has to be improved more."
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