Paramedics give medical treatment to an injured Shia Muslim man at a hospital in Quetta on Monday. – Photo by AFP

QUETTA: Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani on Monday sacked seven police officials on duty when unidentified gunmen shot dead six Shia Muslims in Quetta, DawnNews reported.

According to police sources, 17 suspects have also been arrested in connection with killing of Hazara community earlier today.

The drive-by shooting took place at the busy Prince Road in the Balochistan capital.

“Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a shoe store killing four Shia Muslims and wounding three others,” senior police official Muhammad Tariq told AFP.

“It was most probably a sectarian incident but the police are investigating,” he said.

Another police official, Jehangir Shah, also confirmed the incident and the four casualties.

Later, two out of three injured succumbed to their injuries in a hospital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Balochistan is rife with religious militancy and sectarian violence between majority Sunnis and minority Shia Muslims, and a regional separatist insurgency.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed since Baloch rebels rose up in 2004 against the federal government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the oil, gas and mineral resources in the region.