PESHAWAR: Gunmen riding motorbikes opened fire on police on Tuesday escorting a team of polio workers in northwest Pakistan, killing two police officers, authorities said.
None of the polio workers were injured, said Mohammad Imran, a local police officer. The four polio workers and their police escort all traveled on motorbikes.
The assailants fled and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the town of Gomalin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering province of Afghanistan.
The attack came on the second day of Pakistan’s latest polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has recorded 14 new polio cases since April, all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has dealt a blow to the Islamic nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s polio campaigns are regularly marred by violence, as Islamic militants often target polio teams and the police protecting them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children .
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where poliomyelitis remains endemic. In 2021, Pakistan reported just one case, raising hopes that it was on the verge of eradicating polio.
None of the polio workers were injured, said Mohammad Imran, a local police officer. The four polio workers and their police escort all traveled on motorbikes.
The assailants fled and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the town of Gomalin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering province of Afghanistan.
The attack came on the second day of Pakistan’s latest polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has recorded 14 new polio cases since April, all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has dealt a blow to the Islamic nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s polio campaigns are regularly marred by violence, as Islamic militants often target polio teams and the police protecting them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children .
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where poliomyelitis remains endemic. In 2021, Pakistan reported just one case, raising hopes that it was on the verge of eradicating polio.
