ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A bomb blast hit a police van deployed for polio vaccination in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, leaving at least five policemen injured, police officials said.
The policemen were deployed with a polio eradication team for security in Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district of the province when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded and injured at least five cops, District Police Officer Najmul Hassan told the local media.
The police vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack, said the official, adding that several suspicious persons were arrested from the spot.
Following the explosion, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital.
Security forces cordoned off the area and kicked off a search operation in the surrounding areas.
Earlier on Monday, a five-day anti-polio campaign targeting over 1 million children up to five years of age was launched in the province. ■