Kurram Agency: IED kills polio workers

The vehicle ran over a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Parachinar.

PESHAWAR:

The country’s battle with the crippling disease has played out in the streets where either families refuse the drops for their children or vaccinators are killed.

On Thursday in Kurram Agency, two polio workers were killed in a roadside blast. Their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Parachinar, the administrative headquarters of the agency.

An official of the political administration, Javaidullah Mehsud, said that a three-day polio campaign, which began on January 28 and ended on January 30, was extended for a day to reach out to children in the far-flung areas.

Jawad Ali, who is in charge of the campaign in Kurram, confirmed the incident.

Mehsud added that a two-man team was visiting Malikhel village in the upper Kurram tribal region when a planted improvised explosive device went off, killing them on the spot. The workers were identified as Akbar Hussain and Muzzamil Hussain. “No one has claimed responsibility for the attack,” the official added.

A surgeon in Kurram Agency, Dr Muhammad Asghar Jan, said it was the first incident of its kind in the agency, adding that all tribesmen in the agency were willing to vaccinate their children.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2013.