Peshawar: Motorcycle-borne gunmen opened fire on Tuesday while protecting a police team polio workers in the northwest PakistanTwo policemen killed, officials said.
No polio worker was harmed, said Mohammad Imran, a local police officer. The four polio workers and their police escort were all traveling on motorcycles.
The attackers fled the scene and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the city. gomaliIn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province bordering Afghanistan.
The attack took place on the second day of Pakistan’s latest anti-polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has reported 14 new polio cases since April, all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has been a blow to the Islamic nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s anti-polio campaigns are regularly marked by violence as Islamist militants often target polio teams and the police guarding them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where the disease of polio remains. In 2021, Pakistan reported only one case, raising hopes that it is close to eradicating polio.
No polio worker was harmed, said Mohammad Imran, a local police officer. The four polio workers and their police escort were all traveling on motorcycles.
The attackers fled the scene and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the city. gomaliIn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province bordering Afghanistan.
The attack took place on the second day of Pakistan’s latest anti-polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has reported 14 new polio cases since April, all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has been a blow to the Islamic nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s anti-polio campaigns are regularly marked by violence as Islamist militants often target polio teams and the police guarding them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where the disease of polio remains. In 2021, Pakistan reported only one case, raising hopes that it is close to eradicating polio.