At least 15 people were killed in a blast that appeared to target police outside a polio vaccination center in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said January 13.
Police officers had been gathering outside the center to accompany polio workers for the third day of a vaccination campaign in the province of Balochistan, where Quetta is the capital.
"There are 15 dead, including 12 police, one paramilitary, and two civilians," a local police official told AFP, adding that at least 10 people had been wounded, nine of whom were police and one a civilian.
A doctor at Sandeman hospital in the city confirmed the toll.
"So far 15 bodies have been brought to the hospital," he told AFP.
"We are living in a war zone and I can't say anything about the nature of the blast," Sarfaraz Bugti, Balochistan home minister, told media in Quetta, adding that officials were investigating.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Islamist militants linked with Al-Qaeda have previously targeted health workers taking part in polio vaccination campaigns.
Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and Geo TV