Earlier this month, NYPD ran antiterrorism exercises around the city, trying to prepare itself for the potential of simultaneous terrorist attacks. The simulations were unlike any the city had seen before, instead mirroring the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Spanning three days, the attacks on the most populous Indian city claimed the lives of 178 people. “It was a model that most counterterrorism practitioners hadn’t really considered,” said Mitchell Silber, head of the NYPD’s intelligence analysis division. “The armed gunmen roaming around the city taking hostages, that wasn’t something we had seen by any jihadist group.” During the more than five hours of simulations, police learned that they still have a lot of work to do, particularly in containing and anticipating the terrorists. But at least now the department knows where it needs to improve. [WSJ]
