QUETTA: Armed militants killed two people of ethnic Shia Hazara community in Sariab road area of Quetta, the capital of volatile Balochistan province on Saturday night, police said.

Imran Qureshi, the Superintendent of Police Sariab Road told Dawn.com that armed militants singled out two members of Hazara community from a passenger bus and opened fire on them from a very close range.

He said one person was killed on the spot while the other succumbed to his wounds on his way to hospital. The attackers sped away on their motorcycles after the firing.

“The incident as an act of targeted killing,” Qureshi said. The passenger bus was preparing to leave for Karachi when intercepted by militants, he added.

Police and personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) reached the spot and launched an initial investigation into the incident.

“It is an act of sectarian terrorism,” police said.

The dead bodies of the victims were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for medico-legal formalities.

The incident took place four days after at least 17 people were killed in a blast at Sibi railway station in the province.

Quetta remained under the grip of sectarian attacks for last more than a decade. A large number of members of Hazara community have been killed in targeted killings and suicide attacks.