QUETTA: At least six people, including a policeman, were killed in Quetta when unidentified armed men opened fire at a shop at Sarki road, DawnNews reported.

The attackers riding on two motorbikes opened fire on people sitting in a shop in Sarki area of Quetta, senior police officer Jahangir Shah told AFP.

“They entered a welding shop when workers were having their lunch and killed five people,” he said, adding that the dead included four members of the Shiite Hazara community and one passer-by. Before fleeing they also opened fire on a police patrol, killing one policeman and wounding a police official, Shah said.

Four people died on the spot while the other two succumbed to their injuries during treatment at Quetta’s civil hospital.

The other shopkeepers left their shops and ran to save their lives, as the wave of panic prevailed in the market, sources said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack of targeted killing happened just before Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s arrival in Quetta.

The prime minister was coming on a two-day visit of the province to discuss the law and order situation of the province.