Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed at least two Shia Muslims in the volatile southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, security sources say.

Two members of Shia Hazara community were killed and three others injured when heavily-armed gunmen opened fire on a taxi in the capital city of Pakistani provincial region of Balochistan on Monday.

The injured have been shifted to a local hospital to receive medical treatment.

Security sources said the attackers managed to flee the scene before policemen cordoned off the area.

No group or person has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, but pro-Taliban militant groups have been blamed for such attacks in the past.

Quetta has seen several bomb attacks over the past couple of years.

In January at least 81 people, mainly Shia Muslims, were killed in a bomb attack in the lawless city.

Following the massacre, protesters took to the streets across Pakistan to denounce the ongoing violence against Shia Muslims.

Reports say the anti-Shia terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), has been behind most of the attacks on Shia Muslims in Pakistan.

Human Rights Watch says hundreds of Shias were killed in Pakistan in 2012, which was the deadliest year on record for the Shia Muslim community.

Shia Muslims in Pakistan say the government must take decisive action against the forces involved in the targeted killings. They also accuse Islamabad of failing to provide security for the Muslim community.

The country’s Shia leaders have called on the government to form a judicial commission to investigate the bloodshed.

The killing of Shias has caused an international outrage, with rights groups and regional countries expressing concern over the ongoing deadly violence.

Several Shia religious gatherings have been targeted in different parts of the country over the past few months.

Shias make up about a third of Pakistan’s population of over 180 million.

Source: PressTV