Policeman killed in fresh attack on anti-polio team

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. But the umbrella Taliban faction last year banned polio vaccinations in the tribal region of Waziristan, alleging the campaign was a cover for espionage.
Tuesday's killing happened at Ghalla Dher on the outskirts of the north-western town of Mardan, on the second day of a three-day local anti-polio campaign. "The female vaccinators went inside a house to administer the polio drops. A police guard accompanying the team was waiting outside," Mardan district police chief Danishwar Khan told AFP. "Two people came on a motorbike. They opened fire and shot the policeman dead," he added.