Roadside bomb kills 3 police officers escorting polio workers in northwest Pakistan
Pakistan's police say a roadside bomb has exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwest Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in restive northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing three officers and wounding two others, police said.
The attack occurred in Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as officers were returning to their stations, local police officer Nasir Khan said.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a day after unidentified gunmen opened fire on police escorting polio workers in Karak, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing one police officer and wounding a health worker.
The latest violence comes a day after Pakistan launched its final nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the year, aiming to protect 45 million children. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus has not been eradicated.
