Polio workers targeted in three locations in the city of Jalalabad – the latest in a series of attacks on health workers.
Four polio vaccination officers were killed and three others injured in separate attacks in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, a provincial health department official said in the latest report. a series of attacks on health workers.
A wave of assassinations has hit urban centers since the start of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government last year in Doha, many targeting government workers, health workers, the media and members of civil society.
Dr Jan Mohammad, head of the polio vaccination campaign in Nangarhar, of which Jalalabad is the main city, said on Tuesday that gunmen targeted polio officers in three locations in the city, killing four people. and three injured.
“Today was the second day of our operations after three months, but we have to put them on hold again,” Mohammad told Reuters news agency, adding that all those killed were men.
Armed men killed three polio vaccination workers in Jalalabad in March this year, forcing health workers to suspend operations and assess security.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks.
The Taliban, who are fighting to overthrow the foreign-backed Afghan government, have denied any involvement in previous attacks.
The ISIL Group (ISIS) has also taken responsibility for several targeted assassinations that targeted the country’s nascent civil society, as well as journalists and legal professionals.
Zia ul Haq Amarkhil, the governor of Nangarhar, said police were investigating the attacks.
Many members of conservative Afghan society oppose vaccinations, with fighters frequently attacking health workers claiming they are being used by the West as a cover to spy on.
the recent increase in violence comes as the United States and NATO complete their military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The roughly 2,500 to 3,500 US troops and 7,000 allied NATO troops are expected to be gone by September 11 at the latest, although there are projections they could be gone by mid-July.
