PESHAWAR - A police escort was killed and another wounded when militants attacked a polio vaccinators team on the outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday, while a trade of fire between security personnel and militants in Mohmand Agency left three officials dead and two others injured.
Official sources said the militants attacked the health workers in Ghari Qamardeen area, killing a police escort and wounding his companion.
They said the victim, Zakir, a resident of Ghari Qamardeen, was working with the special police force. The injured, head constable Yaqoob, a resident of Tarangzai Charsadda, was discharged after first aid treatment.
Funeral prayer for Zakir was offered at the Police Lines in attendance of a large number of senior police officials. Later, he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard.
There was no immediate claim about the responsibility for the attack. But similar attacks in the past have been blamed on militants for their opposition to the anti-polio campaign.
Militants frequently attack polio vaccination workers, accusing them of being Western spies and part of a plot to "sterilise" Muslims. Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is endemic. The number of cases in the country reached 62 this year.
In Mohmand Agency’s Baizai tehsil, an exchange of fire between security personnel and militants in the afternoon left three officials dead and two others wounded. Military sources said the pitched gunbattle took place in Yari Khel area.
They confirmed that three security officials were killed and two others hurt.
The three personnel belonged to the Swat Scouts.
Meanwhile, a minor explosion at a filling station in Peshawar’s Gari Baghwanan area left a man wounded. Said Gul, 25, was admitted to Lady Reading Hospital in critical condition.