# 6969
The murderous vendetta against polio vaccination teams in Pakistan continues with word today that a policeman was killed in the northwestern town of Mardan while guarding a team of polio vaccination workers.
Over the past 2 and a half months we’ve seen horrific coordinated attacks made against aid workers, either involved with or associated with the Polio Vaccination drives in Pakistan.
The first attack (see Pakistan: 6 Polio Workers Murdered) was reported on December 18th, the next day (see Pakistan: Fresh Attacks On WHO/UNICEF Polio Workers) we learned of 3 more deaths, and on January 1st the headlines read : 7 More Aid Workers Killed In Pakistan.
Since then, additional attacks have occurred. Pakistan is one of 3 countries where the polio virus is still endemic (the others being Afghanistan and Nigeria).
Nigeria has also seen violence directed at polio workers. Earlier this month we saw Nigeria: Nine Polio Workers Murdered, presumably as part of a larger effort to impose Sharia law in Nigeria by a militant Islamist group.
The Pakistan attacks appear related to the Taliban’s condemnation of polio immunization campaigns after the use of a sham hepatitis vaccination campaign as a CIA cover in the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden (see Maryn McKenna’s Update: Pakistan, Polio, Fake Vaccines And The CIA).
This from AFP.
Policeman killed in fresh attack on polio team
AFP
PESHAWAR: A policeman was shot dead Tuesday while protecting a polio vaccination team, police said, bringing the death toll in such attacks to 20 since December.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings.
Tuesday’s killing happened at Ghalla Dher on the outskirts of the northwestern town of Mardan, on the second day of a three-day local anti-polio campaign.
