At least 10 people are dead and 30 others are wounded after a powerful car bomb blast outside the headquarters of Pakistan's paramilitary security forces in Quetta.

Before detonating their vehicle, as many as six militants inside the car stepped outside and engaged troops in an intense shootout, according to the police. All six attackers were reported to have been killed.

Residents said the blast could be heard from kilometres away.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion is likely to fall on separatists who often target civilians and security forces in insurgency-plagued Balochistan, where Quetta is the provincial capital.

Provincial health minister Bakhat Kakar said the death toll could rise further.

Kakar told reporters the attackers had targeted the security

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