Tehreek-i-Taliban has claimed responsibility for the killing of a police officer who was escorting a team of polio workers near the Garha Fatah area of Tank district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Aaj News, a Frontier Constabulary soldier was also injured during the attack that took place on the second day of the three-day polio drive. The injured security personnel has been admitted to the Tank’s Civil Hospital.

Police have cordoned off the area and started a search operation in the area.

TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said in a statement, The Hour reported. It was the first attack since the TTP on Friday announced the end of a one-month cease-fire with the government.

The K-P province on December 10 had started a province-wide anti-polio vaccination campaign. During the campaign, the authorities are also administering a dose of Vitamin A to children between 6-59 months.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries left with the poliovirus. Unvaccinated children on both sides of the border are at imminent risk.

"We are aware of the risks of cross-border circulation of the virus between the two countries and we are now focused more on further strengthening our robust mechanisms and strategies to address the issue," Dr Shahzad Baig, the coordinator of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, was quoted as saying in an official statement on Wednesday.

It added that more than 290,000 frontline health workers would go house to house for vaccination during the nationwide drive.