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Gunmen in Pakistan Kill 4 Members of Anti-Polio Campaign Gunmen in Pakistan Kill 4 Anti-Polio Workers
(about 4 hours later)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Unidentified gunmen killed four health workers, including three women, taking part in an anti-polio campaign in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, highlighting the challenge the country faces in stopping the spread of the virus. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Unidentified gunmen killed four health workers taking part in an anti-polio campaign in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, highlighting the challenge the country faces in stopping the spread of the virus.
Pakistan is one of three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio remains endemic. Efforts to curb the deadly virus in the country have been hobbled by militant violence. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio remains endemic. But even as Nigeria has managed to halt any rise in new cases, the virus has spread at alarming rates in Pakistan, with 260 new cases reported so far this year, compared with 64 at the same point in 2013, according to Global Polio Eradication Initiative statistics.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militants have repeatedly targeted health workers in Pakistan in a fight against polio immunization. The militants accuse the health workers of being spies and agents of the West. Although Pakistani officials have reaffirmed their commitment to halting the virus, immunization efforts have been deeply hampered by political chaos and militant violence.
The killings took place around 10 a.m. on the eastern outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, according to police officials. Immunization workers have repeatedly come under fire by Pakistani militants, and that appeared to be the case again on Wednesday, though no group claimed responsibility. Militants have widely viewed immunization workers as potential spies and agents of the West.
The vaccination campaign in Quetta district was halted immediately after the attack, but officials said it would continue in other districts of the province. The police said the attack happened around 10 a.m. on the eastern outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, which has been wracked by sectarian violence and a long and brutal war between Baluch separatists and the military and its allied militias.
“Three females and one man died in the attack,” Noor Baksh Mengal, the police official in charge of the neighborhood where the killings took place, said by telephone. “Three other females workers are also wounded.” The vaccination campaign in Quetta and the surrounding district was immediately halted, but officials said it would continue in other districts of Baluchistan.
“Three women and one man died in the attack,” Noor Baksh Mengal, the police official in charge of the neighborhood where the killings took place, said by telephone. “Three other females workers are also wounded.”
The wounded workers were admitted to a hospital, and their condition was said to be not life-threatening.The wounded workers were admitted to a hospital, and their condition was said to be not life-threatening.
Mr. Mengal said that two attackers riding a motorbike had opened fire on a van carrying the health workers. He said the workers were not accompanied by a police security team at the time, and he faulted them for not properly coordinating with the police. He said the workers were to meet a police team and were on their way to that meeting when they came under attack. Mr. Mengal said that two attackers riding a motorcycle had opened fire on a van carrying the health workers. He said the workers were not accompanied by a police security team at the time, and he faulted them for not properly coordinating with the police. He said the workers were to meet a police team and were on their way to that meeting when they came under attack.
In most cases, however, health workers remain vulnerable to militant attacks even with a security detail. Health workers have been repeatedly targeted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, in the northwest, and in the southern port city of Karachi. In most cases, however, health workers remain vulnerable to militant attacks even with a security detail. Baluchistan and northwestern regions, like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province and the tribal areas, have seen both the most intense violence against health workers and the biggest rise in polio cases.
Pakistan has reported 246 cases of polio so far this year, compared with 74 in 2013, according to official statistics. Quetta is considered a high-risk area for the spread of the virus. An ongoing military campaign against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region has factored in as well, causing a huge flood of refugees out of an area that had many polio cases.
Also on Wednesday, an American drone strike in the northwestern tribal region of North Waziristan killed at least five people suspected of being militants, local officials said. On Wednesday, local officials said an American drone strike in the northwestern tribal region of North Waziristan had killed at least five people suspected of being militants.
Such strikes are deeply unpopular in the country and result in regular protests by Pakistani officials. The one on Wednesday occurred in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan.
“Two missiles hit a house used by militants in Konday Sir area of Datta Khel in the morning,” a local government official, who was not authorized to talk to the news media, said on the condition of anonymity. “Five militants are believed to be killed in the strike.”“Two missiles hit a house used by militants in Konday Sir area of Datta Khel in the morning,” a local government official, who was not authorized to talk to the news media, said on the condition of anonymity. “Five militants are believed to be killed in the strike.”
The identities of those killed were not immediately known, but two foreigners were believed to be among them, the official said. The identities of those killed could not be independently confirmed.