DAWN TO DUSK NEWS: polio team attack

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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><img alt="Two bombs kill 13 of polio team escort" height="479" src="http://www.nation.com.pk/print_images/670/2014-03-02/1393708112-3920.jpg" title="Two bombs kill 13 of polio team escort" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 115%;">Posted by :: Muhammad Usman</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">KHYBER AGENCY
-  Thirteen soldiers and a child were killed and eight others injured when
two roadside bombs followed by gunfire targeted a polio vaccination team in
tehsil Jamrud of restive Khyber Agency on Saturday, in the latest attack on
efforts to combat the crippling disease.<br />
Jamrud Assistant Political Agent (APA) Jahangir Azam Wazir said a group of
paramilitary Khasadar and Levies soldiers assigned to escort anti-polio teams
in Walomena rural area of Lashora were targeted with remote-controlled roadside
bombs.<br />
He said the troops were protecting a convoy of health workers who were on their
way to administer anti-polio drops to children as part of a three-day campaign
against polio that started Friday. The militants, who had taken positions on
the nearby hills, also started firing at the soldiers after the bomb
explosions, local tribesmen said.<br />
“A convoy of three vehicles was taking polio workers to administer the drops
and the bombs exploded after the first vehicle that was carrying polio workers
crossed the spot,” Khan said. A second bomb was blasted when another vehicle of
the forces came for the rescue. Thirteen soldiers and a child were killed on
the spot, the APA said. Eight Khasadar troops were also wounded in the attack,
Khan said. Two vehicles of force were also destroyed by the bombs, he said.<br />
Soon after the incident, heavy contingents of security forces and the
administration officials reached at the site. The area was cordoned off and
wounded and dead were taken to Jamrud and Peshawar hospitals, sources said. The
deceased included officers Akhtar Munir, Said Karim, hawaldar Taufeeq, Said
Kamal, Saddam, Noor Wali, Mohammad Ullah, Qadeer, Ferhad, Riaz, Amjad and a
small boy, Razaq.<br />
Khyber Agency Political Agent Shahab Ali while talking to the media persons on
his visit to the area said, the moral of Khasadar force and Levies is high and
they will never hesitate to render sacrifice for the noble cause. He vowed that
soon the culprits will be netted and brought to justice. Nobody had claimed
responsibility for the attack till the filing of this report.<br />
Due to security reasons the anti-polio drive could not be completed in the
previously fixed time that ended on Friday; therefore, it was extended for a
week to cover the whole 38 areas of tehsil Jamrud, health sources said. Rehman
Khan, a senior health official in Khyber tribal district, said the polio
campaign has been temporarily suspended in the Jamroud area. “We will resume
administering of polio drops when the security situation is better,” he said. <br />
Militant strikes and threats of violence have badly hampered campaigns to stamp
out polio in Pakistan, one of only three countries where the disease remains
endemic. Militant groups see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage,
and there are also long-running rumours about polio drops causing infertility. <br />
More than 40 people, including health workers and police guarding the teams
which administer polio drops to children, have been killed in Pakistan since
December 2012. Last week gunmen kidnapped a six-member polio vaccination team
in southwest Pakistan. They were released two days later after the intervention
of local tribal elders. Masked gunmen kidnapped another six-member polio
vaccination team southwest of Peshawar earlier last month. Their whereabouts
are currently unknown.<br />
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan recorded 91 cases of
polio last year, up from 58 in 2012. Pakistan’s failure to defeat polio stands
in stark contrast to its neighbour and great rival India, which recently
celebrated the eradication of polio three years after its last case. The WHO
has warned that Peshawar, the main city of the northwest, is the world’s
“largest reservoir” of polio. Afghanistan and Nigeria are the other countries
where the disease persists. Victims are left dead, paralysed or with withered
limbs.</span></b></span></div>
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Two bombs kill 13 of polio team escort

Posted by :: Muhammad Usman KHYBER AGENCY - Thirteen soldiers and a child were killed and eight others injured when two roa...