Bomb targeting police assigned for polio drive kills nine people

Paramedics and volunteers transport an injured victim of a bomb explosion in Mastung (Arshad Butt/AP)

A powerful bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near a vehicle carrying police assigned to protect polio workers in south-west Pakistan on Friday, killing nine people including five nearby children, and wounding 17 others, officials said.

Local police chief Fateh Mohammad said the attack happened in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province.