Militants kill mother-daughter polio workers in Pakistan

The last major attack targeting polio vaccination team in Quetta took place two years ago in January 2016 in Satellite Town area. At least 13 policemen and a civilian were killed in Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan-claimed suicide attack near a polio centre.

By: PTI
Karachi | January 18, 2018 05:49 PM IST

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Taliban militants in the past had been targeting foreigners, especially Chinese nationals working in Pakistan. (File Photo)

Unidentified gunmen on Thursday shot dead a mother and her daughter who were part of a polio vaccination team in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province. The gunmen opened fire on the polio team in the Shalkot area, killing the two women in what law enforcers believe is a targeted attack, Dawn reported, quoting police sources. The attackers escaped unhurt from the site of the attack, police said. Earlier on Thursday, two policemen were shot dead in a targeted attack in the Zarghoon Road area in Quetta.

Polio teams have been the target of militants after the Taliban spread rumours that the vaccination drives were a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. The last major attack targeting a polio vaccination team in Quetta took place two years ago in January 2016 in the Satellite Town area.