ISLAMABAD (AP) — Suspected militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing one of them and wounding four others before fleeing the scene, police said. Two attackers were killed when police returned fire.
The shooting occurred in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, shortly after Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year, according to local police official Mahmood Alam.
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A health worker marks a child's finger after administering a polio vaccine in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a school in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Health workers walk through an ally to administrate polio vaccine among children at a neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban and local militant groups, which often carry out similar attacks in the region and elsewhere. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.
First lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged families to ensure their children are vaccinated during the weeklong drive, which aims to reach more than 45 million children under 5 across all provinces and regions. She said the campaign will be conducted in coordination with Afghanistan, reflecting a shared commitment to interrupt cross-border transmission and close remaining gaps.
Aseefa is the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a 2007 gun and bomb attack by militants, and who had personally overseen initiatives aimed at eliminating polio during her tenure. In a statement, she said “Pakistan stands at a crucial moment in the fight against polio.” She said while the country is closer than ever to eradication, “the final stretch remains the most challenging.”
Highlighting recent gains, she said 31 polio cases were reported nationwide in 2025, while only one case has so far been recorded so far this year, but warned against complacency.
While Pakistan primarily uses door-to-door vaccination teams to reach children at their homes, Afghanistan generally relies on fixed vaccination sites and health facilities, where parents are asked to bring their children for immunization.
In Kabul, Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said the first national polio vaccination campaign of the year has begun in Afghanistan in coordination with international partners, aiming to vaccinate around 12.6 million children under the age of 5 across the country. He said the campaign has been delayed in some areas due to cold weather.
Zaman urged parents, religious scholars and community leaders to ensure maximum participation in the campaign, stressing that polio can only be prevented through vaccination.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program has been running anti-polio campaigns for years, though health workers and the police assigned to protect them are often targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Authorities have deployed thousands of police officers to protect workers following intelligence warnings of possible attacks. More than 200 polio workers and the police assigned to guard them have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to officials.
Afghan reported from Kabul. Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar contributed to this story from Peshawar, Pakistan.
A health worker marks a child's finger after administering a polio vaccine in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a school in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Lahore, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Health workers walk through an ally to administrate polio vaccine among children at a neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Ships have stopped moving through the Strait of Hormuz, an intelligence firm said, and oil prices resumed their climb Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that the United States would blockade the waterway.
U.S. Central Command later said the blockade would involve all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, and that it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait, a step down from the president’s earlier threat to blockade the entire strait.
Trump confirmed the timing and some details of the CENTCOM statement in a post on his social media site early Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the strait remained under Iran’s “full control” and was open for non-military vessels, but military ones would get a “forceful response,” two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.
The moves came after marathon U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement, setting the stage for a showdown. Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran’s side in the talks, addressed Trump in a statement on his return to Iran: “If you fight, we will fight.”
The war, which is entering its seventh week, has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets.
Here is the latest:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken by phone with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Iranian semiofficial media reported.
The ministers discussed the talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan which failed to achieve a deal, Mehr News agency said, without elaborating further.
An Israeli airstrike killed at least three Palestinians in central Gaza Strip early Monday, hospital authorities said.
The strike hit a Hamas-manned security point just after midnight in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah city, in central Gaza, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital which received the dead men. One Palestinian was also wounded in the strike.
The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since an October fragile ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the shaky ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire could be extended for 45 to 60 days to allow the negotiations to continue.
Fidan, whose country has supported mediations efforts, said the U.S. and Iranian delegations presented initial “maximalist” positions during the talks in Pakistan, adding that Iran is expected to review U.S. proposals and respond.
“If the parties make good progress, an additional ceasefire could be introduced — lasting 45 to 60 days — so that negotiations can continue,” he said in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency. He cautioned however, that Israel remains “a factor” that could disrupt the negotiations. The nuclear issue could also become a sticking point, he said.
“If the nuclear matter turns into an all‑or‑nothing situation, especially regarding enrichment, we could face a serious obstacle,” Fidan said. “But hopefully, with the support of mediators and other countries, we will try to overcome this as well.”
A labor union said Monday that thousands of crew members stuck on vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz are running short on basics and growing increasingly desperate.
Milind Kandalgaonkar, general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, said that nearly 20,000 Indian crew members were stranded in the region.
“Many of these seafarers are reportedly facing acute shortages of food, potable water, and essential medical supplies,” he wrote in a letter to India’s national shipping board. He urged authorities to ensure supplies can reach the vessels, protect seafarers’ welfare and prepare evacuation plans if needed.
Tanker owners say the ceasefire has done little to ease conditions for mariners in the strait, where crews report dwindling food and fresh water.
Israel’s military said Monday said its troops have surrounded what they say is Hezbollah military infrastructure and have started ground operations
in the strategic southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and its surrounding areas, killing over 100 Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah did not immediately publicly announce anyone killed among their ranks, and Israel did not immediately acknowledge any fatalities among their forces. Hezbollah has not commented on the developments.
On Sunday Hezbollah claimed at least five attacks on Israeli troops in the town and its outskirts with rockets, artillery, and exploding drones. According to the group’s statements, the Israeli troops were positioned near a school, a hospital, and juncture that surrounds the heart of Bint Jbeil. The Israeli military said it attacked Hezbollah forces.
The town overlooks the UN-mandated Blue Line that divides Israel and Lebanon, just over 2 miles away, making it a strategic point for the Iran-backed group.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticized the peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan last week as not well prepared.
“I was not surprised by the decision to break off the talks in Islamabad,” he told reporters in Berlin on Monday.
“From the very beginning, I didn’t get the impression that they were really well prepared,” the chancellor said without further elaborating who exactly he was referring to with this criticism.
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports could prompt the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to disrupt transit through Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an analyst has warned.
“If the U.S. moves to impose a blockade on Iranian ports and Iran starts feeling the pain, the Houthis are very likely to escalate in the Bab el-Mandeb,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group think-tank.
The closure of Bab el-Mandeb would add “another layer” of pressure on the global shipping industry, he said.
The offices of the Lebanese Red Cross in Tyre were hit by a drone strike on Monday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
The strike in the southern coastal city killed a wounded person being transported and damaged Red Cross vehicles. The Israeli military did not immediately reply to inquires from The Associated Press.
The funeral was being held on Monday for a Lebanese Red Cross volunteer killed on Sunday in an Israeli strike that hit his team while on a mission in Beit Yahoun.
The Lebanese Red Cross operates in war-torn southern Lebanon in coordination with the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, and the Lebanese military.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held telephone talks Monday with her Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, during which she expressed support for his mediation efforts for hosting U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.
Takaichi said she reiterated Japan’s position that what is most important is to promptly reach a final agreement and to de-escalate the situation through talks to ensure safe passages through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sharif said Pakistan hopes to cooperate with Japan in the effort, Takaichi said.
France and the U.K. will organize a conference with partners ready to contribute to a peaceful multinational mission to help restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said.
In a post on X, Macron stressed “the need to restore free and unimpeded navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as quickly as possible.” He called for a “peaceful multinational mission,” adding: “This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit.”
France and the U.K. have in recent years been working to set up an operation that would allow ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting ends.
The roughly 17-cent (20 U.S. cent) per-liter reduction is intended to help cushion the impact of high energy prices linked to the Iran war.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday the measure “will very quickly improve the situation for drivers and businesses across the country, and especially for those who spend a great deal of time on the road, primarily for work-related reasons.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will not be part of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in response to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Starmer told BBC radio on Monday that “we’re not supporting the blockade” and “we’re not getting dragged into the war.”
He said U.K. efforts remain focused on reopening the key shipping route, whose closure has sent prices for oil and other commodities soaring.
Starmer spoke after U.S. President Donald Trump said Britain would send minesweepers to the strait.
Britain says it might help with mine-clearing in the waterway, but only after the fighting stops. Starmer said all Britain’s military capability is focused on getting the strait “fully open.” The U.K. is working with dozens of other countries on plans to restore security to shipping through the key oil route after the conflict.
Japan has expressed support for the U.S.-Iran talks held in Pakistan over the weekend and that it continues to closely watch further development in hopes of an early de-escalation.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters Monday that his government believes that the most important thing is actually to achieve de-escalation, including ensuring the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We hope a final agreement will be reached swiftly through diplomatic efforts,” Kihara said.
Kihara, asked if Japan is considering sending Japanese warships to join minesweeping effort in the key waterway, said nothing has been decided.
Southeast Asian countries urged the United States and Iran Monday to keep going with peace negotiations, enforce a ceasefire and restore the safe passage of ships, seafarers and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.
The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the urgent plea as they held an emergency video conference, the second in recent weeks, to assess the impact of the war in the Middle East, including soaring fuel prices, and how they could cooperate in the face of global crises.
The 11-nation bloc reminded “the obligations of all states to resolve their differences through peaceful means, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in armed conflicts.”
It called “for the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire, aimed at preventing further suffering and loss of lives, ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation and overflight.”
Iran threatened ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman after the U.S. announced a blockade on Iran’s ports and coastline.
“Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB. “NO PORT in the region will be safe,” the Iranian military said.
Oil prices started climbing and Asian markets mostly declined Monday as the U.S. military prepared to blockade ships bound for or coming from Iranian ports and transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, benchmark U.S. crude jumped $6.71 or nearly 7% to $103.28 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $6.20, or 6.5%, to $101.40 a barrel.
Oil prices have been rising as shipping through the strait has essentially stalled since late February. Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% to finish at 56,502.77. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4% to 8,926.00. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.9% to 5,808.62. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.1% to 25,613.85, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 3,988.56.
Iraq’s oil exports plunged in March to 18.6 million barrels, down from 99.87 million in February due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to official figures released Monday.
The state-run Organization for Marketing of Oil said revenues also have fallen to just $1.95 billion, down from over $6.81 billion.
The figures showed that exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkey’s Ceyhan port also dropped to 1.27 million barrels, down from 5.55 million barrels in February.
Women walk past a banner depicting the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes on Feb. 28, in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man sits on a bench in a memorial, set for the school children who were killed during a strike on a school in southern town of Minab on Feb. 28, in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, April 12, 2026, after he returned from Miami. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Mourners react during the funeral of 13 state security officers killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in Lebanon's coastal city of Sidon, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
