Bangladesh commandos participate in hijacked-aircraft rescue drills in Qatar

Bangladesh Army’s special commando force has joined Qatar, Kuwait, Tunisia and Sudan’s allied forces to rescue a simulated hijacked aircraft at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

It has been a different experience for Bangladesh force as they for the first time participated in an exercise where a regular commercial flight has been used with passengers, including women and children on-board.  

“This is a rare opportunity for us,” Major Md Rezaul Karim, who led the Bangladesh commando team in the operations, told bdnews24.com after the operations on Tuesday night.

This was part of the ongoing multinational exercise ‘Ferocious Falcon’ in Doha, where Bangladesh joined with a large military delegation to participate in almost all drills.

The field training part will be ended on Wednesday with army medical and engineering teams participating in search and rescue operations in a collapsed building.

The whole exercise was aimed at evaluating the readiness of Qatar’s armed forces, and different government agencies.

It is also aimed at activating international cooperation and support with “brotherly, friendly and allied countries”.

In the planning session from May 12 to May 14, a broad concept of the exercise was given.

They presumed ‘Red State’ comprising two islands –eastern and western –located to the north of the ‘Blue State’.

Both states are separated by the ‘Coral Sea’. The Blue State is known for its strong economy and good international relations.

On the contrary, the red state’s economy is in disarray, and has a strong arsenal of munitions and seeks to develop a nuclear weapons programme.

The Red State’s ruling authority has ambitions to control marine economic wealth such as gas and oil of the Blue State.

Doha International Airport, Hamad International Airport, gas and oil fields are some of the potential targets of the ‘Red State’, according to the exercise brief.

Major Karim of Bangladesh commando said back home they use a dumped aircraft for such type of hijacking exercise.

“But here it’s a real aircraft with real passengers including women and children on-board. It gave us a different experience to know about the aircraft and how to conduct this type of delicate operations,” he said.

The exercise has been carried out on a Qatar airway’s ‘Boeing 777’.

Before the joint operations, the Qatari team leader briefed them about the entire plot of terrorists hijacking the aircraft and heading towards Hamad airport.

The commando launched an ‘attack’ after a failed ‘negotiation.’

The tiny Gulf peninsula, Qatar, is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and its small citizenry enjoys the world’s highest per capita income.

Qatari officials have positioned themselves as mediators and interlocutors in a number of regional conflicts in recent years.

Against the backdrop of rising political tension in the region, Qatar’s foreign policy has taken advantage of this situation and put the country on the global table.

It has also signalled a new assertiveness with the deployment of military aircraft to support NATO-led operations in Libya, and US-led operations against the Islamic State in Syria.

Doha is currently implementing large scale infrastructure projects in preparation for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

With this exercise, Doha seeks to activate their command and control system as well as operations, crises and disaster management.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Army medical team joined in an exercise at an industrial area affected by chemical, radiological and nuclear leakage on Tuesday.