Militant ambush kills 12 of polio workers escort in Pakistan

reuters ^ | Sat Mar 1, 2014 9:21pm IST | Jibran Ahmad

[BenLurkin]

The attack lasted an hour and when rescuers approached the scene the gunmen also attacked them, according to Khan Faraz, an official in the Jamrud area of Khyber, a rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Around a dozen wounded were taken to hospital, but others died on the road waiting for help to arrive, he said.

Another official, Assistant Political Agent Jehangir Azam, said all the casualties were members of the levies or Khasadar, both locally recruited government-backed militias. They were providing security for the health workers.

Polio vaccination teams are frequently attacked, as are government security forces. A spokeswoman for UNICEF said it was unclear who was the target on this occasion.

Some religious leaders have denounced the multi-billion dollar vaccination campaign as a cover for spying or a plot to secretly sterilise Muslim children.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Hmmmmmm, sterilize Muslim children?

[Mark17]

Hmmmmmm, sterilize Muslim children?

Well maybe not the children, but is there a downside to doing adults like that?

[Usagi_yo]

What is it? Are they afraid of the vaccine or just don’t want the CIA team embedded in the polio team?

[Slings and Arrows]

They think it’s a Jewish plot. No joke.

[BenLurkin]

Islam.

Sworn enemy of civilization.

[cloudmountain]

Pakistan is hopeless.
Those people have been tribal-fighting each other for as long as there were people there. They fight over the scarce resources of water, land, power, government, foreigners, family...you name it, there is a feud going on about it.
It was the same LONG before Islam reared its ooogly head.

Its name: pak = pure; stan = land/country. Land of the pure...hah.

[muir_redwoods]

I understand high energy ionizing radiation will kill polio. It can be delivered by air in compact canisters that detonate a few thousand feet above the target area.