QUETTA, (Pakistan): Gunmen killed two Pakistani police officers guarding polio vaccinators in the turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said on Wednesday (April 23), the second attack since the launch of a nationwide inoculation drive this week.
In Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan -- the only countries where polio remains endemic -- militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts.
The officers were guarding health workers in the Teeri area of Mastung district when they were attacked by two motorcyclists, local administrator Manan Tareen told AFP.
"One of the policemen was killed on the spot, while the other succumbed to his injuries at the hospital," Tareen told AFP.
"The team of health workers remained unharmed as they were inside a house conducting vaccinations," he added.
Shahid Rind, a provincial government spokesperson, confirmed the toll to AFP.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes days after a policeman was killed in neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Over the past decade, hundreds of police officers and health workers have been killed by militants waging an offensive against the Pakistani state. - AFP
