Two policemen killed as gunmen attack polio team

PESHAWAR: Two policemen were martyred and another was injured when unidentified armed men attacked a security team protecting polio vaccinators in Mohmand district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.

District Police Officer Raza Muhammad Khan said the attack took place in the Tamanzai area, within the limits of Pandiali Police Station, during an ongoing anti-polio vaccination campaign.

The martyred personnel were identified as Zahoor and Arabi, while the injured policeman was named Sabir. The DPO added that one of the attackers was also injured in the exchange of fire. Police launched a search operation to track down those responsible.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and paid tribute to the two policemen who lost their lives while performing security duties. He extended condolences to their families and expressed sympathy with them.

Naqvi said the policemen deployed to protect polio workers were making sacrifices for a healthier future. He described the attack as unacceptable and called for strict action against those involved.

The latest incident comes amid growing security concerns surrounding polio vaccination teams in the province. Earlier, unidentified armed men abducted four polio workers after opening fire on them in Tank district.

The incident occurred in Jious village of Sheikh Attar union council, where the gunmen reportedly took the workers to an undisclosed location.

In a separate incident, two members of a polio vaccination team were kidnapped in the Azam Warsak area of Lower South Waziristan. Suspected militants affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were reportedly involved. Both workers were later released.

The incidents have raised fresh concerns about the safety of vaccination teams working to eradicate polio in the country.

Pakistan launched a special anti-polio campaign on November 2 across 97 selected districts. The nationwide drive is scheduled to continue until November 8, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication.

Meanwhile, health authorities have confirmed Pakistan’s seventh polio case of 2026 in Khyber district. The latest case involves a 13-month-old girl from Jan Baz Union Council in Bara tehsil.

It is the second polio case reported from Khyber district this year and the sixth from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, highlighting the continued threat posed by the virus despite ongoing vaccination efforts.