US to train Bangladeshi police to handle explosives

The US government has undertaken a program to train Bangladeshi police personnel to deal with all sorts of sophisticated explosives or bombs.

According to the Independent on Thursday, the US-sponsored program, first of its kind in Bangladesh, is part of a US global capacity building initiative for law enforcement agencies of Muslim countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Sources from the country's home ministry said a total of 10 police personnel including seven sub-inspectors, two assistant commissioners and one inspector will take part in the training beginning from May 2, 2004 in the US embassy here.

The explosive exports from the United States will help the selective local trainees acquire considerable expertise on highly sophisticated explosives, and enable them to effectively cope with any potential bomb attacks.

Official sources said the program is also part of Washington's global clampdown on suicide attackers operating worldwide under al-Quaeda network.

The police force in Bangladesh at present have no expertise on sophisticated explosives. Police sources pointed out that whenever an explosion rocks any part of the country, military explosives experts are called in.

Against the backdrop of deteriorating law and order situation as well as recurrent bomb attacks around the country, the Bangladeshi government earlier ever sought US support to rein in underground criminal networks.

The US also decided to take the program following Bangladesh seized the largest ever smuggled arms haul in the country's restive southeastern hilly region Chittagong Hill Tracts on April 3, and a parcel bomb hoax took place in Dhaka's diplomatic enclaveon April 18.

A two-member US military expert team earlier has visited Chittagong area to get ideas about the routes of arms smuggling.

Source: Xinhua