Scotland Yard officers in Pakistan to study anti-terror operation

A mock exercise was staged in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi for six Scotland Yard officers who wanted to know how the police busted a terrorist plan in the city last June.

Officials said that their curiosity was aroused by media reports that the Rawalpindi police detected the formidable arsenal of explosives and ammunition the terrorists had hidden in a large gas cylinder, Dawn online reported Thursday.

Led by Douglas McKenna, the Scotland Yard team watched the police Wednesday re-enact the task and also interviewed officer Haroon Joyia, who, as Superintendent of Police Potohar Division, had made the recovery June 16, 2013, in Naseerabad locality of Rawalpindi.

Two suspects -- Inamuddin and Abdul Khaliq -- belonging to North Waziristan, were coming to Rawalpindi when police stopped their car at Choki Hameedan.

Both were arrested after a gas cylinder in the boot of the car yielded two suicide jackets, two telescopes, four Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and ammunition, 24 detonators and 20 hand grenades, 17 of them made in the US and three in Russia.

Police had linked the two terrorists to the Baitullah Mehsud group.

Regional Police Officer Akhtar Umar Hayat Laleka said that the Scotland Yard team analysed how the police went about it and the pros and cons of their actions.

"They discussed the case in detail with our officers, especially with reference to the forensic evidences since convictions were made on the basis of forensic evidence," he said.

The official said that the Scotland Yard team's visit was connected with sharing training experiences and practices between the Pakistani and the British police.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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