A bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan early Monday, killing six people taking part in an anti-polio campaign, a police officer said.
The bomb went off just as a van drove by carrying security officials who were supposed to protect vaccinators as they went to local houses to administer the anti-polio vaccine, said police official Samiullah Khan.
The incident happened in the village of Malikhel, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the provincial capital of Peshawar. Four police officers and two members of a local peace committee riding in the van were killed, Khan said.
Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is still endemic.
Part of the reason that it is still prevalent is that militants who oppose the campaign often target the workers delivering the vaccine and threaten people who want to get their kids vaccinated. Many Pakistanis also worry about having their children vaccinated because they view the vaccination campaign as a western plot to harm Muslims.
During these vaccination campaigns, teams of polio workers often accompanied by police escorts go door to door in villages and towns to administer the vaccinations. The campaign targeted Monday had originally been scheduled for September, but was delayed over security concerns, said a health official. He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
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