A suicide attack on a polio vaccination center in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday killed 15 people, mainly police officers gathered to escort health workers, officials said. It was the latest attack on the vaccination campaign, and health workers have been repeatedly targeted in recent years by Islamic militants.
The suicide bomber detonated his explosives among the police officers, said Sarfraz Bugti, provincial home minister. The bombing happened outside the polio center shortly before vaccination teams were due to Polio workers in Pakistan, and their police escorts, have been targeted in recent years by Islamic militants who accuse them of working as spies for the United States.
The attacks intensified after a Pakistani doctor was arrested on charges of running a fake hepatitis vaccination campaign in the city of Abbottabad as a cover for a CIA-backed effort to obtain DNA samples from Osama bin Laden ahead of the 2011 U.S. raid that killed him.
Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is endemic, and the attacks have hindered vaccination campaigns. Some Pakistanis are also suspicious, fearing the vaccinations will sterilize their children.
See more at: 15 dead in suicide blast at Pakistani polio center - Orlando Sentinel
The suicide bomber detonated his explosives among the police officers, said Sarfraz Bugti, provincial home minister. The bombing happened outside the polio center shortly before vaccination teams were due to Polio workers in Pakistan, and their police escorts, have been targeted in recent years by Islamic militants who accuse them of working as spies for the United States.
The attacks intensified after a Pakistani doctor was arrested on charges of running a fake hepatitis vaccination campaign in the city of Abbottabad as a cover for a CIA-backed effort to obtain DNA samples from Osama bin Laden ahead of the 2011 U.S. raid that killed him.
Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is endemic, and the attacks have hindered vaccination campaigns. Some Pakistanis are also suspicious, fearing the vaccinations will sterilize their children.
See more at: 15 dead in suicide blast at Pakistani polio center - Orlando Sentinel