PESHAWAR – One of the two policemen providing security to polio vaccination workers was gunned down while another was injured in northwest Pakistan on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility of the attack, which is first since the banned outfit on Friday announced the end of a one-month cease-fire with the Pakistani government. The ceasefire had begun in early November amid efforts to reach a peace deal.
The attack occurred in the district of Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the second day of a five-day anti-polio drive to vaccinate 6.5 million children in the province, a police official said.
The two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on the police team in the Chaddarah area, leaving one constable dead on the spot and critically wounding a Frontier Constabulary officer. All members of the vaccination team were unhurt.
Extremist groups often target polio vaccinators and security assigned to protect them, claiming the vaccination campaigns are parts of a conspiracy to sterilise children.
