PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Unknown assailants opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Mansehra district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, killing two females and a policeman.
The attack took place in Dana area of Mansehra where two female members of an anti-polio team identified as Farah Gul and Kaneez Nargis and a police constable Ishfaq assigned to provide security to the polio team lost their lives due to firing by assailants.
The assailants managed to escape from the scene successfully after the attack.
The firing incident was confirmed by the senior local police official Akhtar Hayat.
Last year, Pakistan witnessed nearly 300 polio cases and remains to be one of the three countries in the world where polio is still categorized as an endemic viral infection.
But on the other hand, attempts to eradicate the crippling disease in the country have been badly hit by consistent attacks on polio vaccination teams.
The militant groups continue to target polio workers, claiming that the polio vaccination is a cover for espionage or a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.
