According to the police, the incident took place in Maidan area. The policemen were on their way to a basic health unit when they were targeted”.
Representational image (Photo: IStock)
At least two people were killed on Wednesday after gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to reports on Thursday.
The policemen were part of a nationwide drive launched this week to inoculate tens of millions of children in Pakistan – one of only two countries where the crippling disease remains endemic, The Express Tribune reported.
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According to the police, the incident took place in Maidan area. The policemen were on their way to a basic health unit when they were targeted”.
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“No officials from the polio vaccination team were hurt as they were at a distance. However, the suspects managed to escape from the scene.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Wednesday’s killings.
The attack comes during a devastating year in Pakistan’s long fight against the disease, with at least 104 cases reported in 2019 so far.
Pakistan has recorded at least 104 cases of polio this year, according to government data, a sharp increase from the 12 recorded in 2018 and eight the year before.
Polio eradication efforts have been hampered by a sharp spike in attacks targeting polio vaccination teams, with at least seven team members and policemen killed this year.
Since 2012, at least 98 people have been killed in attacks targeting polio vaccination teams in Pakistan, according to an Al Jazeera tally.
On Monday, Pakistan launched its latest National Immunisation Day, aiming to reach more than 39 million children under the age of five across the country with polio and other routine immunisations.
In April, a similar polio vaccination campaign was suspended across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Lower Dir is located, when false rumours regarding side-effects of the vaccine led a mob to riot, destroying a local health unit outside the provincial capital Peshawar.
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