Approximately 25 militants including 3 women, dressed in police uniforms simultaneously attacked three law enforcement agencies in Lahore this morning. Militants launched a string of attacks in the Pakistani heartland and in the troubled northwest, killing 24 people after a week of violence in which more than 100 people died.

The regional center of the Federal Investigation Agency and two police training centers, Manawa and Bedian Road were the targets of the assaults that occurred just before 9:30 a.m. in Lahore, the capital of the province of Punjab and Pakistan’s second most populous city.

The coordinated attacks threw parts of Lahore into chaos, and in the capital, Islamabad, officials expressed dismay and surprise that another assault was under way, targeted specifically at the nation’s struggling law enforcement apparatus.

The attacks in Lahore came five days after militants stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi last Saturday, and held 42 hostages for nearly 20 hours.

About 800 trainees were reported to be inside the training center at the time of the attack. The militants climbed a back wall of the academy; a sprawling complex surrounded by empty fields, said the Lahore police chief, Pervez Rathore. The militants threw grenades at the training center and forced their way into the compound, located about four miles from the Lahore International Airport.

Police officers and army rangers mounted an assault and exchanged fire for more than two hours. Wounded police trainees were taken by ambulance to hospitals during the gun battle, but the number of casualties was unclear.

It is indeed a time for national unity. I urge every Pakistani to be observant and take care of his surroundings. It is not only the duty of security agencies and police to protect while they were also under attack. Public can help them by informing about each and every suspicious person and activities which they see around them. Be responsible and alert for the sake of the country. Pakistan needs all of us in these difficult times.

Image: Nytimes