15 killed in bomb blast outside polio centre in Pakistan

At least 15 people, mostly security officials, were killed and over 20 others injured on Wednesday when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polio vaccination centre in restive Balochistan's capital Quetta, the worst attack on the anti-polio campaign in the country.

The blast ripped through a police van outside the vaccination centre as security officials gathered there to escort polio workers for the third day of a vaccination campaign in Balochistan.

The suicide bomber detonated his explosives among the police officers, said Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti. "We're in a war zone," he said.

The deceased include 12 policemen, one paramilitary officer and two civilians, a police official said. Over 20 others were also injured in the bast.

The bombing happened shortly before vaccination teams were due to be dispatched to local neighbourhoods as part of the immunisation campaign, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Quetta Syed Imtiaz Shah.

Shah said about eight kilogramme of explosives were used in the blast.

Hours after the blast, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muhammad Khurasani claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Later, another militant group, Jundullah, also claimed the responsibility for the blast.

"Body pieces of the suicide bomber have been collected by security agencies to initiate a probe into the incident," an intelligence official was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

Eyewitnesses at the site said they heard firing after a loud blast rocked the area. The glass windows of nearby buildings shattered due to the intensity of the blast.

Human remains were scattered on the ground, with some body parts strewn on walls and electric poles along with items of clothing including the caps and shoes of policemen.

The injured have been shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta, where an emergency has been imposed.

Police and rescue workers reached the site soon after the blast and security forces have cordoned off the area.

Wednesday was the third day of a three-day anti-polio campaign which was launched in Quetta and other districts of Balochistan on Monday. The campaign in Quetta was temporarily suspended following the blast.

The campaign was launched to target 2.4 million children under the age of five. Over 55,000 children of Afghan refugees are to be immunised under the campaign.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, according to the World Health Organisation.

Polio workers have long been targeted in the country by Islamist groups including the Taliban militants which claim that the polio immunisation drive is a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.