Militants target polio vaccinators team in Pakistan, kill one

Islamabad: Suspected militants targeted a team of polio vaccinators in Peshawar city of northwest Pakistan today, killing a female worker and seriously injuring another in the latest in a string of attacks on vaccination teams. Two gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at the vaccinators at Badabher area on the outskirts of Peshawar while they were administering polio drops to children. A female vaccinator was killed instantly, police and witnesses said. The injured woman was taken to Lady Reading Hospital, where doctors described her condition as critical. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. [caption id=“attachment_822097” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation for the gunmen. A fresh three-day anti-polio campaign was launched today in parts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. On May 20, suspected militants attacked a team of polio vaccinators in the restive Bajaur tribal region and killed a security personnel. Last month, a policeman was killed and another seriously injured when suspected militants attacked a team of polio vaccinators in Mardan town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In January, six women and a man working for a NGO involved in the vaccination campaign were shot dead in Swabi district. In December, eight volunteers involved in a polio vaccination drive were gunned down in a string of attacks in the southern port city of Karachi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The attacks prompted UN agencies to withdraw their workers from the campaign. Last year, the Pakistani Taliban banned polio vaccinations in parts of Waziristan tribal region, claiming the drive was a cover for espionage. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries where polio is still endemic. PTI