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Two police officers guarding polio team killed in Pakistan’s Balochistan
Two police constables guarding a polio vaccination team were killed Tuesday in the Noshki district of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province by unidentified gunmen, Independent Urdu reported.
The attack took place during the week-long anti-polio campaign when the officers were providing security to vaccinators in Killi Jamalabad area, said Noshki City Station House Officer Munawar Zaman. The vaccination team was safe.
The dead officers were identified as Muhammad Yasir and Abdul Rauf. Police said the attackers fled with the officers’ weapons. Dawn said a search operation was launched and the vaccination campaign in the affected area was suspended. For the attack, no group has claimed responsibility.
Pakistan started a nationwide polio drive Monday targeting millions of children. It is one of only two countries where it is endemic, the other being Afghanistan.
Attacks on polio workers and the security personnel assigned to protect them have repeatedly disrupted vaccination campaigns in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.