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Militants kill police officer guarding polio workers in Pakistan

A Pakistani health worker gives the polio vaccine to a child who crossed into Pakistan across the Pakistani-Afghan border at Chaman, Pakistan on May 29, 2013. A guard stands near as security for the polio workers is tight after the attacks on polio teams in Pakistan. UPI/Matiullah Achakzai.
A Pakistani health worker gives the polio vaccine to a child who crossed into Pakistan across the Pakistani-Afghan border at Chaman, Pakistan on May 29, 2013. A guard stands near as security for the polio workers is tight after the attacks on polio teams in Pakistan. UPI/Matiullah Achakzai. | License Photo

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Gunmen in northwest Pakistan attacked police officers guarding a team of polio vaccination workers, killing one officer, police said.

The attack occurred Saturday in Peshawar, Voice of America reported.

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No group has claimed responsibility, but militants frequently attack polio workers in Pakistan, accusing them of trying to sterilize Muslims, the report said.

Polio has been labeled an epidemic in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, the Global Eradication Initiative said. The disease is highly infectious and can cause irreversible paralysis.

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