The Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) ( bn, বিশেষ অস্ত্র ও কার্যপদ্ধতি, সোয়াট) is the

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...

of the

Dhaka Metropolitan Police The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force unit in Bangladesh. A ...

of the

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...

. They operate under Special Action Group of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime. The

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

was formed to recover illegal arms and arrest hardcore terrorists and has a vital role in neutralizing any and all threats. The SWAT has been regularly deployed outside of Dhaka to respond to terrorist incidents. The Bangladesh Police plans to establish anti-terrorism operational units similar to SWAT in all of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. A Crisis Response Team (CRT) has been established in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

and in

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

that were trained in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

History

The SWAT was established on 28 February 2009 as part of the

Detective Branch Detective Branch is a specialized unit of Bangladesh Police. According to Human Rights Watch, there is extensive documentation of human rights violation by Detective Branch and Rapid Action Battalion. According to Human Rights Watch, 70 percent ...

of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police under the control of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner. The SWAT was to be ready for deployments on 1 March of that year in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

and even outside if required. The SWAT was to be more powerful than the Bangladesh Police

Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ba ...

(RAB) and could be deployed to deal with terrorist groups and any criminals. The SWAT completed a 45-day training program conducted by nine

experts from the Army, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Police which was financed by the United States. The United States also provided equipment including

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

SR-25 The SR-25 (Stoner Rifle-25) is a designated marksman rifle and semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company. The SR-25 uses a rotating bolt and a direct impingement gas system. It is loose ...

AR-10 The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s and manufactured by ArmaLite (then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation). When first introduced in 1956, the AR-10 used an innovative co ...

sniper rifles and

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

pistols. In 2016, the SWAT was placed under the command of the newly formed Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime. In the same year, the SWAT had 50 members, with 20 new recruits to receive training in the United States with the SWAT aiming to expand to the unit to 100 members. In 2017, the United States

Bureau of Diplomatic Security The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and pr ...

Anti-terrorism Assistance Program (ATA) trained nine SWAT instructors over 7 weeks who conducted two refresher Crisis Response Team courses for 42 SWAT members.

Operations

The SWAT was deployed for security during the

2008 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 29 December 2008. The two main parties in the election were the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, and the Bangladesh Awami League Party, led by Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh Awa ...

, Pahela Baishakh and at Shaheed Minar during celebrations for

International Mother Language Day International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally r ...

. The SWAT has deployed to many militant attacks, including outside of Dhaka in 2017 to

Chapainawabganj Chapainawabganj (Bengali language, Bengali: চাঁপাইনবাবগঞ্জ) is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division, and was formerly a sub-division of Malda district. The north and ...

for Operation "Eagle Hunt" and to

for Operation "Hit Back". In July 2016, the SWAT responded to the Holey Artisan Bakery terrorist attack in

Gulshan Thana Gulshan ( bn, গুলশান) is a thana situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is an affluent residential and business neighbourhood; and is now home to a number of the city's restaurants, shopping centres, schools, banks, members' clubs and ho ...

with eight SWAT members seriously injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swat (Bangladesh) Non-military counterterrorist organizations Law enforcement in Bangladesh

History

Operations

See also

References