Gunmen kill a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say gunmen have fatally shot a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in the northwest. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where the spread of polio has never been stopped. Police said Tuesday that the gunmen fired at team working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing the officer on the spot. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. Anti-polio campaigns are regularly marred by violence in Pakistan. Militants target vaccination teams and the police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.