2 dead as bomber hits Pakistan police protecting polio teams
Officials say a suicide bomber has attacked a truck carrying police officers tasked to protect polio workers on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, killing two people and wounding more than 20 others, mostly policemen
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up near a truck carrying police officers on their way to protect polio workers outside Quetta on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding more than 20 others, mostly policemen, officials said.
Ghulam Azfer Mehser, a senior police officer, said the attack happened when the policemen were heading to the polio workers, part of a nationwide vaccination drive launched Monday.
He said the bombing also damaged a nearby car carrying members of a family.
The Pakistani Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility. In a statement, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan group, or TTP, said the attack in Baluchistan targeted police to avenge the killing of their former spokesperson, Abdul Wali. He was widely known as Omar Khalid Khurasani and was killed in a bombing in Afghanistan’s Paktika province in August. His death was a heavy blow to the group.
