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Bomb attack kills 14 in Pakistan polio center

A blast near a government-run polio centre in Quetta, Pakistan on Wednesday killed at least 14 and left over 10 injured, Dawn reports.

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The deceased include 12 policemen, one paramilitary and two civilians, a police official said.

The lack of trust and fears of attacks on vaccination centers have led Pakistani parents to refuse mandatory vaccination.

Police official Shahzada Farhat said the attack appeared to be a suicide bombing, but investigations are ongoing.

Pakistan remains one of only two countries on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) list of polio-endemic countries.

“We are living in a warzone and I can’t say anything about the nature of the blast”, Mr Bugti is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Initial reports said that five people – including polio team members – were killed and several others injured.

In that year, Pakistan recorded its highest number of polio cases since 1999. The bomb targeted the head unit of anti-polio campaign office.

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The blast took place when anti-polio vaccination teams were preparing to leave for the third day of anti-polio drive in the city.

At least 15 people have been killed when a bomb targeted security forces in south-western Pakistan