Two officers killed in Pakistan polio campaign attack

Two police officers assigned to protect polio vaccination workers were shot and killed on Tuesday in Mohmand district, northwestern Pakistan. A third officer was wounded in the drive-by attack, officials said.

Suspected militants riding a motorcycle opened fire as the officers traveled to a nearby village to guard vaccination teams, police officer Ayaz Khan said. The attackers fled the scene, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.

Mohmand is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have a history of targeting anti-polio drives and the police who protect health workers. These groups often argue that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the attack intolerable in Islamabad. He offered condolences to the families of the killed officers, stating they worked for a healthier future for the country.

The attack occurred during a nationwide campaign that began Monday to vaccinate 24 million children against polio. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where wild poliovirus is endemic, according to the World Health Organization.

In a separate incident the previous day, suspected militants abducted four polio workers in Tank district, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Provincial Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the abductions in a statement and urged authorities to secure the workers’ safe release as soon as possible.