Renowned Pakistani singer Amjad Sabri was shot and killed today while driving his car in Karachi, Pakistan, Al Jazeera reports. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, the BBC reports. Sabri was 45 years old.

Sabri was one of the most famous singers of Qawwali, a music style with its roots in Sufism. His father, Ghulam Farid Sabri, and his uncle, Maqbool Ahmed Sabri, led the Sabri Brothers, a popular Qawwali group in the 70s and 80s. His family traced its musical lineage to the 17th century. The BBC writes that Sabri "produced both traditional and commercial music and also sang for movie soundtracks in India and Pakistan," making him more of a crossover star.

Dawn writes: "He was not only well-versed with the structure and aesthetics of qawwali but also knew how to make it adaptive to the contemporary music keeping its essence alive."

Sufism, a mystical form of Islam, is opposed by religious extremists. The Taliban suppressed Sufism during their rule in Afghanistan. In 2010, suicide bombers targeted a Sufi shrine in Lahore, Pakistan, in an attack that was widely blamed on the Taliban.

In 2014, a blasphemy case was filed against Sabri for mentioning the prophet Muhammad's family in a song, as Dawn reports. Sabri's mother told Al Jazeera that earlier this year, unknown assailants had attacked their home in search of the singer.