Two Policemen Martyred, One Injured in Gun Attack During Mohmand Polio Campaign

MOHMAND: Two police personnel were martyred, and another was injured after unidentified gunmen opened fire on cops deployed for an anti-polio campaign in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Tuesday.
According to police, the attack took place in the Dag Tamanzai area, where the policemen were heading to perform security duties for the polio vaccination campaign.
Police said a search operation has been launched in the area to arrest the culprits.
Hostile elements often target polio teams in the terrorism-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces in an attempt to disrupt the vaccination drive.
In September this year, two policemen guarding a polio team were martyred after unidentified armed men opened fire in Nushki district of Balochistan,
The latest firing incident comes amid an ongoing subnational polio vaccination campaign aimed at reaching around 24 million children in 97 districts, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).
The subnational polio vaccination campaign, which began on November 2, will continue until November 8.
Polio is a highly contagious disease that has no cure and can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some cases, even death. It can, however, be prevented through safe and effective polio vaccines, which have been used safely in 195 countries, including all Muslim-majority countries.
Pakistan has reported eight cases of wild poliovirus type 1 so far this year, with six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh.