At least 15 people have been killed and many injured today in a blast outside a polio vaccination centre in the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.
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.
Sarfaraz Bugti, Minister for Balochistan province where the attack took place, told reporters the explosion took place in the morning around the time workers report for duty before heading out on their vaccination rounds. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where the disease is still endemic.