Gunmen kill officer escorting polio team
Source: Agencies |
February 27, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GUNMEN yesterday shot and killed a police officer who was protecting a team of polio workers during a UN-backed vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan.
It was the latest of several attacks on Pakistan's efforts to eradicate the deadly disease, found in only three countries in the world. Militant extremists view the vaccination campaigns as Western-backed plots to gain intelligence in sensitive areas and have frequently targeted the medical staff and those protecting polio teams.
No polio workers were wounded in yesterday's attack in the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.
At least two attackers were hiding in a field near a narrow road as the polio workers walked by on their way to visit houses in the area, said Mardan police chief Inam Jan.
"The polio workers were going door-to-door and one police officer was protecting them when the gunmen suddenly attacked them near an open area and fled," Jan said, adding that the police were searching for the attackers.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Janbaz Afridi, a senior health official, said the polio vaccination campaign continued in various parts of the province despite the killing. "We have taken best possible steps for the safety of polio teams," he said.
In 2012, humanitarian workers, including those working to prevent the polio spread, were repeatedly targeted. According to UN figures, 19 humanitarian workers were killed last year in Pakistan. Of those deaths, 11 were related to polio, including a rash of shootings in December when nine polio workers were killed across Pakistan.
Some militant groups in Pakistan oppose the vaccination campaign, accusing health workers of acting as spies for the United States or the Pakistani government.
It was the latest of several attacks on Pakistan's efforts to eradicate the deadly disease, found in only three countries in the world. Militant extremists view the vaccination campaigns as Western-backed plots to gain intelligence in sensitive areas and have frequently targeted the medical staff and those protecting polio teams.
No polio workers were wounded in yesterday's attack in the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.
At least two attackers were hiding in a field near a narrow road as the polio workers walked by on their way to visit houses in the area, said Mardan police chief Inam Jan.
"The polio workers were going door-to-door and one police officer was protecting them when the gunmen suddenly attacked them near an open area and fled," Jan said, adding that the police were searching for the attackers.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Janbaz Afridi, a senior health official, said the polio vaccination campaign continued in various parts of the province despite the killing. "We have taken best possible steps for the safety of polio teams," he said.
In 2012, humanitarian workers, including those working to prevent the polio spread, were repeatedly targeted. According to UN figures, 19 humanitarian workers were killed last year in Pakistan. Of those deaths, 11 were related to polio, including a rash of shootings in December when nine polio workers were killed across Pakistan.
Some militant groups in Pakistan oppose the vaccination campaign, accusing health workers of acting as spies for the United States or the Pakistani government.
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