A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polio vaccination centre in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people, mainly police.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polio vaccination centre in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people, mainly police, officials said.

The policemen had been gathering outside the centre to accompany polio workers for the third day of a vaccination campaign, which are frequently targeted by militant attacks in Pakistan, in the violence-wracked province of Balochistan, of which Quetta is the capital.

"There are 15 dead, including 12 police, one paramilitary, and two civilians," a local police official told AFP.

Sarfaraz Bugti, Balochistan home minister added: "So far 15 people have been injured in the blast seven of whom are in critical condition."

An AFP reporter at the site saw three burnt out vehicles that had been blown up in the explosion, while human remains lay strewn across the ground, walls, and electric poles along with items of clothing including the caps and shoes of policemen.

The latest attack comes as a suicide bombing struck near the Pakistani consulate in Afghanistan's Jalalabad city, killing two people just days after four-country talks aimed at reviving Taliban peace negotiations commenced in Islamabad.