Islamabad, Oct 15 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Islamic militants attacked key police facilities and also targeted the Army Headquarters in two Pakistani cities, killing at least 28 people in their latest strikes on security forces as the army prepares an able and strong offensive against a Taliban stronghold.

Pakistan has seen a string of terror attacks and blasts over the last week and today also, the sequence continued with some more terror strikes and explosions. Today at least five explosions and blasts took place in many places, sometimes targeting the Army Headquarters, a school to even a peaceful residential colony also.

“The most dangerous thing is they were able to target the same places twice. So we’re running out of adjectives here. We’ve been calling them bold, brazen, audacious,” says Asha’ar Rehman, the Lahore bureau chief of Dawn, a leading English daily. “It hurts the psyche of the people. After learning the lessons of the past, we’re still an easy target.”

“The organized attacks are an indication that all terrorist groups are coordinating,” said Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, assistant professor of international relations at Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University. “They are trying to force the government not to launch the South Waziristan operation. It is a test of the government’s resolve now.”

On the other hand, Taliban spokesmen have said recent attacks were revenge for the August killing of their top commander, Baitullah Mehsud, by a U.S. missile. This latest spate of violence, in the form of explosions and terror attacks, comes as the government and military prepare an assault on the group’s South Waziristan encampments near the Afghan border.