Gunmen Monday shot dead three Pakistanis and wounded two others in the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan.

Gunmen Monday shot dead three Pakistanis and wounded two others in the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, officials said.

The shooting took place in the town of Mach, some 70 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the provincial capital Quetta.

"Three men from the Hazara community were killed and two others were wounded when gunmen on a motorbike sprayed bullets at two vegetable shops," local police official Sher Ahmed told Agence France Presse.

Two others sitting in the shop were wounded in the firing, he added.

Atif Nabi, a local government official confirmed the attack and toll.

Baluchistan is rife with extremist militancy. Violence has surged in the province this year and human rights activists have raised concerns about an increase in targeted killings.