Gunmen killed two members of Pakistan’s Hazara community and wounded three others in an early morning attack in the southwestern city of Quetta on Sunday, according to local sources.
The victims were traveling in a rickshaw in the Hazarganji area of the city when they were targeted by armed assailants, the sources said. All five passengers were from the Hazara community and residents of the Brewery neighborhood in Quetta.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, and Pakistani authorities have not publicly commented on the attack.
The Hazara community in Quetta, a predominantly Shiite ethnic minority, has long been the target of sectarian violence. Over the past two decades, militant groups have repeatedly carried out deadly attacks against Hazaras, citing their religious identity.
Human rights organizations have documented persistent security threats facing the community, which largely lives in heavily guarded, segregated enclaves in Quetta. Movement outside those areas is often limited due to security concerns.
Targeted killings, bombings and shootings have heightened fears among Hazaras in recent years, despite periodic security measures by Pakistani authorities.
