Special police of the Serbian Interior Ministry on Wednesday staged a joint anti- terrorist drill on Mt. Goc in central Serbia to demonstrate their resolve and capability against terrorist acts and organized crimes, Xinhua reported.
The drill, which was dubbed Rasina 2009 and simulated a battle against an infiltrating terrorist group, was conducted by 244 officers from the elite Gendarmerie, the Special Anti-terrorist Unit, the Counter-terrorist Unit and the Helicopter Unit.
Congratulating members of the police on their successful drill, Serbian President Boris Tadic said that the drill showed that the state and its police were ready to meet all the security and terrorism challenges.
"This proves that our state is not only capable of establishing order and peace in its own territory, but can also be a factor of stability in the region," said Tadic, adding that the fight against organized crime is of the essence for the country's stability and development.
Ivica Dacic, Serbian first deputy prime minister and interior minister, said that the successfully performed maneuver has shown that Serbia has a highly professional and well trained police force and that the police are capable of dealing with any security risk.
He said that the fight against organized crime would be continued and that the action to arrest members of two criminal groups would go on. One of these groups carried out robberies and blackmail and the other falsified official documents.
Apart from Tadic and Dacic, the drill was also observed by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, parliament speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac and representatives of the diplomatic corps, including the Chinese, U. S. and Russian ambassadors to Serbia.