Terrorism response to be put to the test
Senior officers in the police force are drawing up scenarios portraying possible terrorist attacks on Greece as part of an effort to assess the readiness of security forces in the wake of the recent bombings in London and Egypt, sources told Kathimerini yesterday. The aim of the exercise is to stage some dummy runs to test the response times of security personnel to a terrorist attack on sensitive targets, such as the public transport system or technological centers that function as part of the country’s infrastructure. Officers also want to examine how well the emergency services dovetail, a year on from the huge security operation for the Athens Olympics when there was a clear hierarchy of command directing the various security forces. There is some concern, police sources indicated, that almost 12 months later, the cooperation between the services will not be that smooth. Officers are, therefore, hoping to iron out any problems as quickly as possible. The exercise may also result in the revival of the special coordinating council involving members of the government, which was also in place during the Olympics, sources said.
