Pakistan: Policeman guarding polio team killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Unidentified men killed a policeman guarding a polio vaccination team in Kohat city in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the third day of a five-day polio campaign on Sunday.

Unidentified men killed a policeman guarding a polio vaccination team in Kohat city in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the third day of a five-day polio campaign on Sunday. According to police, policeman Syed Sajid Hussain sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead, Dawn reported. However, Polio vaccinators escaped unhurt.

"Soon after the attack, the area was cordoned off and an operation was launched to trace the culprits," said Kohat District Police Officer Sohail Khalid. Citing police sources, Dawn reported that in CCTV footage obtained by the investigators, attackers could be seen fleeing after opening fire polio vaccination team.

The deceased was accompanying the team of vaccinators who were administering polio drops to children by the roadside in the area when the attackers opened fire at him and fled. They said the official suffered gunshot injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital. As per the Dawn report, since 2012, 40 health workers and 16 policemen have lost their lives in the line of duty during polio vaccination campaigns in the country. Half of such attacks have been carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as 18 polio workers and eight policemen have lost their lives in targeted attacks.

Meanwhile, in recent months, two policemen were killed in Mardan, one was targeted in Peshawar, another in Dera Ismail Khan and at least one official was killed in a deadly attack in Karak. Last year, two lady health workers were murdered in Swabi. (ANI)