At least 3 killed in attack on polio vaccination team in North Waziristan

  • Victims shot by unidentified assailants
Updated 28 Jun, 2022

At least one health worker and two policemen were shot dead on Tuesday in Datta Khel, North Waziristan during a vaccination campaign, Aaj News reported.

The victims were administering polio vaccines when unidentified assailants shot them.

“Gunmen came on a motorcycle and opened fire on the vaccination team,” senior police offer Ashfaq Anwar told AFP, adding that a child was also wounded by stray bullets.

“The victims died at the scene and the gunmen escaped.”

The police have shifted the injured to Miranshah hospital.

Alarming rise in polio cases

Police and law enforcers immediately reached the area and began a search operation to trace the attackers,.

On Monday, the second Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) campaign this year began, which aims to vaccinate 12.6 million children in the country.

Over 100,000 trained health workers have been engaged in the drive.

Pakistan has reported at least 11 cases of polio this year compared to only one in 2021, all of which were in North Waziristan.

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