QUETTA: Gunmen on Thursday killed a senior police official and three other policemen guarding him in Quetta, police said, in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

Superintendent of Police Mubarak Shah, 56, was killed en route to his office when four gunmen riding on motorcycles attacked his vehicle, said city police officer Muhammad Sultan.

"The head and upper parts of all the four victims were targeted," said Sultan, adding that one policeman was critically wounded.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, carried out the attack, according to the faction's spokesman, Asad Mansur.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack, his office said.