Greater Manchester Police apologises for ‘Allahu Akbar’ cry in training exercise

Greater Manchester Police has apologised for having a ‘suicide bomber’ shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ during a terrorist training exercise. The exercise took place at the Trafford Centre and saw a person playing the part of a terrorist make the cry, which means ‘God is Greater’, before letting off an explosion. The force has come under heavy criticism following the exercise, with many taking to social media to voice their frustrations and demanding to know why the exercise was directly linked to Islam. Following the wave of criticism, assistant chief constable Garry Shewan responded saying it was ‘unacceptable’. He said: “It is a necessity for agencies including the police to train and prepare using exercises such as this, so that we would be in the best possible position to respond in the event that the unthinkable happened and an attack took place. “The scenario for this exercise is based on a suicide attack by an extremist Daesh [ISIL] style organisation and the scenario writers have centred the circumstances around previous similar attacks of this nature, mirroring details of past events to make the situation as real life as possible for all of those involved. “However, on reflection we acknowledge that it was unacceptable to use this religious phrase immediately before the mock suicide bombing, which so vocally linked this exercise with Islam. We recognise and apologise for the offence that this has caused.” Tony Lloyd, Greater Manchester's Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, praised the operation on whole, but also criticised the decision to use the phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ as part of the attack. Lloyd said: “It is frustrating the operation has been marred by the ill-judged, unnecessary and unacceptable decision by organisers to have those playing the parts of terrorists to shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ before setting off their fake bombs. "It didn’t add anything to the event, but has the potential to undermine the great community relations we have in Greater Manchester."