Three killed in attack on Pakistan polio vaccination team - GulfToday

Three killed in attack on Pakistan polio vaccination team

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A policeman stands guard while health worker applies vaccine dose to a child. File photo

Gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday killing a health worker and two policemen — the latest deaths in a dangerous campaign to eradicate the disease.

Pakistan is one of two countries, alongside neighbouring Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, but where vaccination teams have been targeted by militants.


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"Gunmen came on a motorcycle and opened fire on the vaccination team," senior police offer Ashfaq Anwar told the media, adding that a child was also wounded by stray bullets.

"The victims died at the scene and the gunmen escaped."

The attack happened in North Waziristan, a region that borders Afghanistan and which was once a significant refuge for Afghan and Pakistan Taliban militants.

Shahid Ali Khan, a senior government official in the district, confirmed the incident.

Scores of polio workers and security officials guarding them have been killed in militant attacks since 2012.

Agence France-Presse

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