Militants launched a string of bold strikes against Pakistani law enforcement Thursday, killing at least 17 people and taking an unknown number of hostages, police officials said, according to CNN.

 Three nearly simultaneous attacks were carried out mid-morning in the eastern city of Lahore.

Seven people died in a firefight outside the Federal Investigation Agency, according to Khusro Pervez, Lahore`s police commissioner. Among the dead were four police and two militants. One militant was in custody.

Видео дня

Militants also hit the Manawan and Bedian police training centers.

Two police cadets died when a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up at Manawan, said Raja Mubashar, head of the academy.

As many as 10 militants stormed the Bedian elite police training center, taking hostages, said police official Ahmed Bilal. Explosions could be heard outside the compound, where families also live.

It was not immediately clear who was being held hostage or whether there were any casualties.

In northwestern Pakistan, a suicide car bomber hit a police station in the Kohat district, killing at least eight people -- three of them police officers, said Zafar Iqbal, a police official. The offices of several senior police and government officials are next to the police station that was targeted. Several military installations also are nearby, according to Iqbal.

Militant attacks have become increasingly bold in recent days.

 At least 41 people were killed and 45 wounded in a blast Monday at a security forces checkpoint in northwest Pakistan. The explosion occurred in the Shangla district in the volatile Swat Valley.

On Saturday, militants attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, killing 11 military personnel and three civilians, according to the Pakistani military. Nine militants died in the attack. A total of 39 hostages were freed Sunday morning after being held by five militants at the army headquarters.