RBAF drill thwarts terrorist attacks in Hikmat Bersatu

TERRORIST attacks continue to be thwarted in the Hikmat Bersatu military exercise organised by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), stated the Ministry of Defence (MinDef).

The fourth series of Hikmat Bersatu, which began on April 23, is based on the concept of low intensity conflict and embodying counter-terrorism warfare.

Over 3,000 armed forces personnel from all RBAF units are involved in Hikmat Bersatu, which is the nation's biggest military exercise.

According to the scenario adopted for the military exercise, a suspected terrorist group known as Zulfikar Aidil (ZA) have been gaining presence in a nation called Blueland, a fictitious country based on Brunei.

In the scenario, the ZA terrorist group launched an attack on Blueland during a high-profile defence convention held yesterday and today.

The adversary's modus operandi is believed to be using explosives.

Prior to their final attack, the ZA terrorist group claimed to have shot down a Blueland Armed Forces' military helicopter on Tuesday in an attempt to spread propaganda about its feats.

However, their claims were rebuked by the Blueland Armed Forces, who stated that the alleged military helicopter made an emergency landing in Temburong.

The crew engineers managed to rectify the problem and the military aircraft was able to fly back to the Blueland Air Force base.

On the same day, it was reported that an explosion was heard at the front gate of the Blueland Air Force base, located in Rimba, at around 4am.

Further attacks using terrorist tactics were carried out by ZA nationwide, including at the MinDef in Berakas.

So far, the ZA attacks have been successfully foiled by the Blueland Armed Forces. Major (U) Norudin Salleh, MinDef spokesperson, said the armed forces have proven their capability.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, he conveyed that the armed forces is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the state through professionalism at operation readiness to counter anticipated and unanticipated emergencies.

The second Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (2RGR) under the British Armed Forces is participating in Hikmat Bersatu for the first time.

The exercise will be conducted until May 3.

The Brunei Times