Police apologise for using 'Allahu akbar' in terror-training exercise

Manchester force says it was 'unacceptable' to use Islamic phrase – but many defended the scenario as realistic

Terror Training
(Image credit: AFP/Getty)

Greater Manchester Police has apologised for a training exercise in which an actor playing a terrorist repeatedly shouted "Allahu akbar", meaning "God is great" in Arabic.

Emergency service personnel and volunteers were taking part in a simulated terrorist attack on a Manchester shopping centre. An actor playing a suicide bomber shouted the phrase four times before supposedly blowing himself up.

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