Suspected militants on Thursday shot dead a Hazara man in Quetta's Satellite town area, said police officials.

"Gunmen opened fire at a wielding shop, killing one Hazara man," said a police official.

The deceased was later identified as Ali Khan Hazara.

The assailants escaped from the scene of the incident.

Police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) reached the spot and started initial investigation into the incident.

Officials have termed the incident as an act of targeted killing.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing. The dead body was shifted to hospital for postmortem.

Balochistan has been experiencing incident violence and targeted killings since more than a decade. More than 1,400 incidents targeting the minority Shia and Hazara community have taken place in the province during the past 15 years.

While sectarian terrorism in Balochistan has disproportionately targeted the Hazara community, easily identifiable because of their distinctive physical appearance, other Shias — especially pilgrims travelling to and from Iran — have not been spared either.