Two killed in Mohmand Agency blast

PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb exploded in Mohmand Agency on Wednesday killing an off-duty polio vaccinator and his relative while wounding another worker, officials said.

The blast occurred in the Ali Nagar village of the Mohammad tribal district along the Afghan border.

The bomb went off near the house of polio vaccinator Mohammad Gul who was out walking with his brother, also a polio worker, and his cousin, although it was not clear whether they were specifically targeted.

"One polio worker (Gul’s brother) and his cousin were killed while another polio worker was wounded," local government official Akbar Hussain told.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombing but militants have been aggressively targeting immunisation workers across Pakistan.

The number of polio cases recorded in Pakistan passed 200 for the year last week, a 14-year-high.

Some 60 people including health workers and police providing security have been killed in militant attacks on polio vaccination teams since December 2012.A local security official confirmed the bombing and casualties.

Officials said 136 cases reported were from the troubled northwestern tribal areas that border Afghanistan and are home to Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.