WASHINGTON, April 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The US Department of Homeland Security announced Monday a new round of anti-terror exercises will take place this month in Connecticut and New Jersey.

    The department said the exercises are the third of the Congressionally-mandated Top Officials (TOPOFF) national exercise series. Additional TOPOFF activities will also be conducted withinBritain as part of a partnership to strengthen security in both nations.

    "The TOPOFF exercises are an important part of our national preparedness strategy," Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said in a statement. "To make our response system stronger, we have to identify our strengths and weaknesses through challenging scenarios."

    "Those scenarios are an integral part of the TOPOFF exercise and they force us to gauge our readiness, test our internal communications and develop and reinforce relationships across all levels of government and the private sector," Ridge said.

    The new exercises will use a series of exercise activities of increasing complexity, and simulate a terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction in Connecticut and New Jersey, the Homeland Security Department said. The specific scenarios for the exercises are still being developed.

    More than 8,500 people participated in similar exercises in Seattle and Chicago last May, the second of the TOPOFF drills. TheHomeland Security Department reported in December said the drills revealed communication problems and confusion among emergency responders, as well shortages of medical supplies and hospital rooms.

    The first round of the exercises was conducted in Denver and New Hampshire in May 2000. Enditem