Gunmen kill a polio worker and a policeman during a vaccination campaign in Pakistan
Pakistani police say gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on police escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in the northwest, killing an officer and a polio worker
By AP News
Published - Sep 11, 2024, 08:00 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 07:21 PM EST
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire Wednesday on police escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan, killing an officer and a polio worker, police said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, according to local police chief Abdul Aziz.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement condemning the attack.
Pakistan on Monday launched a nationwide polio campaign amid a spike in militant attacks. The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.
