Beijing mobilises 100,000-strong citizen army in the capital's latest anti-terror drive

Beijing has mobilised a 100,000-strong citizen army to gather intelligence in the capital as the national anti-terrorism campaign gathers pace, according to local media.

Even newspaper vendors and street cobblers have been ordered to raise the alarm if they notice anything suspicious.

But the move has been attacked both by a military expert and on social media.

Critics hit out after the Beijing Youth Daily and Beijing News reported yesterday that community leaders and volunteers across the capital would collect anti-terror intelligence and report to the city's public security agency.

Each piece of valid information would net a citizen agent a reward of two yuan (HK$2.50), while those who report three pieces of intelligence a day would be offered 200 yuan a month, Beijing Youth Daily quoted the citizen intelligence team from Xicheng district as saying.

The mobilisation came as two police officers were killed during anti-terror raids in Xinjiang . One died on Wednesday in Aksu and the other on Thursday in Kashgar, sources confirmed.