Landmine blast kills two polio workers in Mohmand Agency
Political administration has confirmed the blast in Alingar area.
PESHAWAR (Web Desk / AFP) - Two polio workers were killed and another one injured in a landmine blast in Mohmand Agency on Wednesday morning, Dunya News reported.
The incident occurred in Alingar area in Tehsil Safi when polio workers were on their way to work. The deceased have been identified as Sakhi Gul and Maskeen while injured Gul Mohammad was shifted to a nearby hospital.
Mohmand is one of Pakistan s seven tribal agencies near the Afghan border which are rife with militancy and are said to be strongholds of Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombing, but militants have been aggressively targeting immunisation workers across Pakistan.
The militants allege polio vaccination is a cover for espionage or Western-conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.
Those conspiracy theories gained further traction after the CIA recruited a local doctor to start a vaccination programme during the hunt for Osama Bin Laden which dismayed many aid and health workers.
The number of polio cases recorded in Pakistan passed 200 for the the year last week, a 14-year-high.
Some 60 people including health workers and police providing security have been killed in militant attacks on polio vaccination teams since December 2012.
A local security official confirmed the bombing and casualties.
Officials said 136 cases reported were from the troubled northwestern tribal areas that border Afghanistan.
