Photo: Soldiers chat to an Afghan 'trader' at the mock village in NorfolkFrom Times Online:
For the usually peaceful Norfolk countryside it was a startling sight: a suicide bomber appeared to blow himself up, seriously wounding a passer-by and scaring several sheep.
Thankfully the attacker and his victim were acting. The site of the blast was a mock Afghan village on a military base near Thetford. The exercise is designed to prepare soldiers before deployment to Afghanistan, and commanders believe that it will save lives.
About 60 Afghans who live in Britain as well as more than 100 retired Ghurkas — who are allowed to handle weapons — play the part of villagers, Taleban insurgents and Afghan security forces.
Chickens scuttle across straw-strewn streets framed by high walls, which divide the settlement into small compounds where families live in simple, single-storey stone houses.
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My Comment: This type of training is priceless.