MOHMAND: Two police personnel were martyred and another was injured after unidentified gunmen opened fire on cops deployed for an anti-polio campaign in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, police said. According to police, the attack took place in the Dag Tamanzai area, where the policemen were heading to perform security duties for the polio vaccination campaign.

Police added that a search operation has been launched in the area to arrest the culprits involved in this cowardly attack. Hostile elements often target polio teams in terrorism-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces in an attempt to disrupt the vital vaccination drive.

In September this year, two policemen guarding a polio team were martyred after unidentified armed men opened fire in Balochistan's Nushki district. The latest firing incident comes amid an ongoing subnational polio vaccination campaign aimed at reaching around 24 million children across 97 districts, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).

The subnational polio vaccination campaign, which began on 2 November, will continue until 8 November across targeted vulnerable districts. Polio is a highly contagious disease that has no cure and can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some cases, even death for infected children.

It can, however, be prevented through safe and effective polio vaccines, which have been used safely in 195 countries, including all Muslim-majority nations. Pakistan has reported eight cases of wild poliovirus type 1 so far this year, with six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh, highlighting the ongoing threat.