Police stage huge anti-terror exercise at mall in Manchester
16:40, 10/05/2016, TuesdayU: Update: 16:55, 10/05/2016, Tuesday
Yeni Şafak
The mock terror attack was held at the second-largest mall in Britain to test response of emergency services
A major anti-terror training exercise took place at Trafford Center in Manchester, United Kingdom, British media outlets reported.
As many as 800 volunteers played shoppers at the mall during the mock strike, which began Monday at midnight and lasted until 6 am on Tuesday. Police wanted to make the attack as realistic as possible.
Dozens of officers from Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside Police, and the North West Counter Terrorism Unit were actively involved in the mock attack, according to Manchester Evening News.
Police were assisted by fire and emergency crews as well as mall staff during the event, which had been planned since December 2015.
The Mirror said that anti-terror police swept on the shopping center to test the response of shoppers to a Paris or Brussels-type attack on civilians. The simulation, codenamed Exercise Winchester Accord, included different scenarios such as mass casualties, suicide bombers and hostage taking.
Police drilled different counter-terror tactics during the exercise at the shopping mall on the outskirts of Manchester. According to BBC, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it would "test the emergency response to a major terrorist incident."
The three-day exercise will continue in other locations, including Redbank Community Home in Newton-le-Willows on Wednesday.