The terror attacks in Paris last Friday and the assaults in the city in January both involved Islamic radicals murdering civilians. That is where the similarities end.

Unlike the killings at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo — that over the years had published cartoons deemed by some to offend Muslims — and at a kosher grocery store, the attacks last Friday were meticulously prepared, were aimed at the entire nation and have greater international implications, terror analysts said.

… Speaking to TODAY, Mr Romain Quivooij, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said the Paris attacks are “a ghastly display of asymmetric power, the ultimate objective of which is to raise fear and panic through a state of chaos.”

… RSIS’ Professor of Security Studies, Dr Rohan Gunaratna also told TODAY: “(The) Islamic State can conduct both simple and complex attacks. The potential for (the) Islamic State to conduct coordinated simultaneous or near simultaneous strikes is higher than any other contemporary threat group.”