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Two Pakistani anti-polio volunteers slain

PESHWAR, Pakistan, June 16 (UPI) -- Police in Pakistan said Sunday they were on the trail of gunmen who killed a pair of volunteers working for a polio immunization program in the Swabi district.

The victims, one of them a local teacher, were gunned down Sunday in a village by two suspects who fled on foot.

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"We asked the health workers to take police escort but they refused," said district Police Chief Mian Saeed. "Since they were locals, probably they were confident that they could carry out their task without police escort."

The New York Times said the incident was the second attack on polio workers and was presumably carried out by Islamist militants who believe vaccinations violate religious law. The attacks escalated after the CIA used agents posing as health workers to collect blood samples in an area where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding.

Saeed vaccination workers needed to be cautious and consider packing guns while on their rounds. "We are considering asking health workers to carry weapons with them," he said. "We can issue them weapon permits."

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