Bomb near Pakistan polio centre 'kills 14'

Another day,Another bomb

At least 14 people have been killed in a bombing outside a polio vaccination centre in the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta, officials say.

Many of the casualties are thought to have been police guarding the clinic.

Armed guards are routine for polio workers in Pakistan, who have been the target of many deadly attacks by Islamist militants in recent years.

Militants oppose polio vaccination, saying it is a Western conspiracy to sterilise Pakistani children.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where the disease is still endemic.

The explosion took place in the early morning as polio workers and security staff were reporting for duty before heading out on their vaccination rounds, said Sarfaraz Bugti, a minister in Balochistan province of which Quetta is the capital.

Local police said the blast killed 12 policemen, one paramilitary soldier and a civilian. About 20 people were injured.

"We are living in a war zone and I can't say anything about the nature of the blast," Mr Bugti is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.