ISLAMABAD, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two traders were killed when unknown gunmen sprayed bullets at them in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday.
The incident happened in a busy market area of the provincial capital of Peshawar where the gunmen riding on motorbikes attacked the traders in an apparent targeted killing and fled the scene, Peshawar police said.
The traders belonged to a minority group and ran shops of spices in the market, a statement by Capital City Police Officer Ijaz Khan said.
Khan later told the media that a search operation was underway in the Khyber district to apprehend the attackers.
A protest by the minority group in the city was held in the wake of the attack, demanding the government arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack and asked the provincial government to ensure safety of minority group traders.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. ■