Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], December 12 (ANI): A policeman was killed on Saturday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Tank who was protecting the polio vaccination team.

The incident took place in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan District of KP, when armed men on a motorcycle attacked the polio security team, killing one security official and injuring another, reported Geo News, citing the district health officer.

Also Read | Bahrain Detects First Case of New COVID-19 Variant Omicron, Says Health Ministry.

The armed men fled the scene, and a police search operation to find them is underway, DHO Sajjad Ahmed told Geo News.

The body of the killed security personnel and injured are being shifted to the hospital, said Ahmed.

Also Read | Phoenix Zoo in Arizona Vaccinates 75 Animals Against COVID-19: Media Reports.

Extremist groups often target polio teams and security assigned to protect them, claiming the vaccination campaigns are a conspiracy to sterilise children.

In August, constable Dilawar Khan was on his way to polio duty in Dera Ismail Khan when unidentified assailants opened fire on him near the Atal Sharif area of Kalachi Tehsil, killing him on the spot while the accused fled, police had reported.

In a second attack in the month of August, a Frontier Reserve Police officer was shot dead by unidentified persons in Peshawar within the limits of the Daudzai police station.

Meanwhile, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed that its fighters attacked the polio team in Tank, reported Geo News.

The WHO deemed Pakistan and Afghanistan as dangerous countries in a recent statement by the Thirtieth Polio IHR Emergency Committee, stating that the two countries have failed to eradicate polio fully and may be responsible for the virus's global spread. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)