PESHAWAR — Gunmen shot and killed a police officer Tuesday who was protecting a team of polio workers during a UN-backed vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan. The attack is the latest incident of violence against Pakistan's efforts to eradicate the deadly disease found in only three countries in the world. Militant extremists view the vaccination campaigns as Western-backed plots to gain intelligence in sensitive areas and have frequently targeted the medical staff and those protecting polio teams. No polio workers were wounded in Tuesday's attack in the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said police officer Fazal Wahid. At least two attackers were hiding in a field near a narrow road as the polio workers walked by on their way to visit houses in the area, said the Mardan police chief, Inam Jan. — AP
