Gunman kills Pakistani officer protecting polio team

PanARMENIAN.Net - Gunmen shot and killed a police officer Tuesday, February 26 who was protecting a team of polio workers during a UN-backed vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan, AP said.

The attack is the latest incident of violence against Pakistan's efforts to eradicate the deadly disease found in only three countries in the world. Militant extremists view the vaccination campaigns as Western-backed plots to gain intelligence in sensitive areas and have frequently targeted the medical staff and those protecting polio teams.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and it wasn't immediately known whether the police officer was targeted because he was protecting the polio team or for some other reason.

In 2012, humanitarian workers, including those working to prevent the polio spread, were repeatedly targeted. According to UN figures, 19 humanitarian workers were killed last year in Pakistan. Of those deaths, 11 were related to polio, including a rash of shootings in December when nine polio workers were killed across Pakistan.