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Pakistan Policeman Killed While Protecting Health Workers


A Pakistani policeman has been shot dead while protecting a polio vaccination team in the country's tribal region of Waziristan, bringing the death toll for such attacks to 20 since December.

Reports say gunmen opened fire on a polio team near the northwestern town of Mardan on Tuesday.

The local Taliban faction has banned polio vaccinations in the area, alleging the operation is a cover for espionage. There have also been rumors that the vaccinations are an attempt to sterilize Muslim children.

Polio cases have risen sharply in Pakistan in recent years, reaching a high of 198 cases in 2011. Pakistan is one of very few nations left in the world where polio is endemic.
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