SITUATIONER: ‘Double-tap’ terrorist attacks expose tactical gap in LEAs’ training

AS COUNTERTERRORISM operations intensify, mostly through intelligence-based operations carried out to hunt down terrorists, it seems the miscreants have also been evolving their tactics and increasingly moving towards a ‘two-stage attack’ strategy, designed to inflict maximum casualties. Despite past incidents and awareness of terrorists’ changing methods, which have resulted in heavy losses, the police department has yet to fully reassess its counterterrorism strategy and come up with clear guidelines not only to strike the enemy but also to protect precious lives. As part of their two-stage strategy, terrorists first strike a police installation and engage personnel deployed inside the…