LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Three workers of a polio vaccination team were killed in a roadside bombing in southern Helmand province on Tuesday, an official said.
The vaccinators, a father and his two sons, were killed in the blast that took place in Shakar Shila area of Sangin district in the afternoon, a public health official Dr Obaidullah Daudzai told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Daudzai said the victims belonged to the same family: “The father was voluntarily accompanying his two sons in the vaccination campaign.”
He identified the victims as Abdul Qayyum, 45, the father, Jan Mohammad, 18, and Nisar Ahmad, 16, residents of Sangin district.
He said the vaccination campaign began on Tuesday to give polio drops to children in Sangin, Kajaki, Musa Qala and Bughran districts of Helmand.
“Bughran is a restive district but militants have never prevented vaccinators and in some cases the Taliban have assisted polio workers,” he added.
Daudzai said militants should identify areas where they had planted roadside bombs so that polio workers could be advised not to travel on those roads.
The governor’s spokesman, Umar Zwak, confirmed the blast and the casualties.
Three months ago, a 16-years-old vaccinator was killed by unidentified gunmen in Marja district.
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