California starts two-day anti-terror drills

The US authorities started two-day anti-terror drills in California Thursday, simulating dirty bomb attack, hijackings and train derailment.

About 500 Los Angeles law-enforcement personnel from the police, fire brigade, the National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other city organs participated in the dirty bomb attack drill at the Port of Los Angeles to test the preparedness of the city's first responders.

Wearing protective gear and armed with radiation detectors, firemen and emergency workers carried the "wounded" soldiers and civilians to emergency vehicles for treatment.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles police officers donning blue hazard suits secured the scene in a "hazardous material hot area" after the explosion of a "dirty bomb," while other emergency workers did the decontamination work to clean up the site.

Also on Thursday, a simulated terrorist hijacking was staged at the Oakland International Airport, while an insurgent takeover at San Francisco International Airport was conducted.

On Friday, a train derailment drill in Oxnard, Ventura County, will also be staged to test the ability of the state's mutual aid system to support local and state response efforts, according to City Councilwoman Janice Hahn's office.

Officials said the drills were not related to the terror warnings issued to certain financial institutes in the East Coast days ago. Nevertheless, Los Angeles has beefed up security in local financial centers.

Source: Xinhua