A bombing near a girls' school in western Pakistan claimed the lives of seven individuals, including five children, in an attack targeting police officers safeguarding polio vaccinators on Friday, according to officials.
"The police van that was attacked was transporting personnel assigned to protect polio staff," Rahmat Ullah, a senior police officer, informed AFP. He further mentioned that "a girls' school is located near the site of the attack" in the city of Mastung, within Balochistan province.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic, and vaccination teams often face attacks by militants opposed to security forces. "Seven individuals—one police officer, five children, and one shopkeeper—were killed in the attack at the city's main market," stated senior officer Abdul Fatah in an interview with AFP. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi initially reported the death toll as three children and one police officer, condemning the attack as an act of brutality against children.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast. This incident follows the killing of two police officers earlier this week, who were guarding polio vaccinators in northwestern Pakistan. The attack was attributed to militants. The killings occurred just a day after Pakistan initiated a week-long campaign aimed at immunizing over 45 million children aged five and above.
Pakistan has experienced a significant increase in polio cases this year, with at least 41 recorded in 2024 compared to six in 2023. The country has also been grappling with a resurgence of militant violence in its western regions since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses Kabul's rulers of not doing enough to eliminate militants who conduct attacks from across the border.
The most active group in Balochistan is the Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist organization that frequently targets security forces and individuals from other parts of Pakistan.
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