A terrorist was killed in Lower South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Monday after an attack on a police team engaged in polio vaccination duties, according to a statement released by the province’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) office.

Unidentified terrorists attacked the station house officer of the Azam Warsak police station and his team in the Kalosha area while they were conducting polio vaccinations. 

A 30-minute exchange of fire ensued, resulting in the death of one terrorist.  The remaining assailants fled the scene.

Authorities recovered a sub-machine gun, a rocket launcher, and two motorcycles from the attackers. The slain terrorist was identified as Afnan, and was found to be carrying two identity cards, three ATM cards, and a smartphone. 

One of the identity cards belonged to the terrorist, while the other belonged to a police constable who was killed in a previous attack before Eid ul Fitr; a case related to the constable’s death was registered at the Counter Terrorism Department police station in South Waziristan.

Additional police personnel and armoured personnel carriers have been deployed to the area to conduct further investigations and provide protection to polio vaccination teams. KP IGP Zulfiqar Hameed commended the police team involved in the exchange of fire and announced a reward.

This incident comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year, running from April 21 to 27.  Polio vaccination teams, who conduct door-to-door vaccinations, are frequently targeted by militants, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.