Islandwide anti-terror drill to climax next Wed

"Gunmen" opened fire at Cafe del Mar "patrons" in Sentosa in yesterday's staged attack where 10 people "died". The forensic team was called in as seen in the picture. (PHOTO: JAMIE KOH)

Expect an islandwide mobilisation of 15 agencies in the country's biggest anti-terror drill this year.

Mock attacks simulate an assault on the city one evening. Involving six boatloads of 15 "terrorists", the following scenarios are being played out over three days:

YESTERDAY

Cafe del Mar in Sentosa, Shaw House and two hotels in town were attacked.

TODAY

Terrorists land at Marina South and Singapore Cruise Centre via rubber dinghy and proceed to attack Raffles Place MRT station, HarbourFront, VivoCity and the Cable Car Towers.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Armed Forces storm Rasa Sentosa to bring down the terrorist ringleader and rescue hostages.

Journalists got a piece of the action yesterday at Sentosa, after being briefed to cover the event "as if it were a real incident".

At 7am, three "gunmen" jumped off a rubber dinghy at Siloso Beach and fired automatic weapons at Cafe del Mar "patrons" marking the beginning of the exercise.

Similar mock attacks will be held today, before the showdown between the authorities and mock terrorists at Rasa Sentosa next Wednesday.

In the exercise yesterday, 10 people "died" and 20 had suspected "gunshot wounds", before the "gunmen" fled in the direction of Rasa Sentosa on bicycles.

Home Team Academy trainees played the "victims", while Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers combed the "crime scene" and bagged clues.

Vehicles from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Special Operations Command rushed to the scene.

During peak seasons, an average number of 24,000 visitors throng Sentosa daily. There are 2,300 residents living in Sentosa Cove.

Ms Suzanne Ho, deputy director of communications, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "In any situation, our rangers or island security will work very closely with state agencies to manage a crisis.

"And, while safety of our guests is our priority, in any situation we will continue to provide updates to our island partners, in order to ensure that the information flow is kept going."