Taliban claims responsibility for Lahore suicide attack

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Source: CNN

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for a deadly suicide attack on a police building in Lahore, eastern Pakistan that killed at least 27 -- and vowed similar attacks in other cities.

Taliban Commander Hakimullah Mehsud said the Wednesday morning attack in Lahore was payback for the ongoing military offensive in the northwest part of the country that has become a haven for Islamic militants.

"If the government continues to carry out activities at the behest of America, we will continue to hit government installations," Mehsud said.

The Taliban think the military operation is meant to appease the United States, which has long asked Pakistan to battle insurgents operating from the stretch of tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/28/pakistan.taliban.lahore/

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1. Pakistan diary: Upping the ante

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With this attack the Taliban have upped the ante.

They claimed responsibility for the attack immediately, something they have rarely done in the past.

Their tactic now, according to many analysts here, will be to attack as many of Pakistan's cities as possible.

By doing so, they will want to put pressure on the Pakistani government to make the war as unpopular as possible, thereby building public pressure on the government to strike some sort deal for a ceasefire.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/200952884121514155.html

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2. Shocking. positively shocking.

Striking Lahore, the most liberal and culturally diverse city in Pakistan was a clear message.

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3. I sort of expected a car-bomb war as soon as they went into Swat.

That seems to be the way the game is played nowadays.