Militants shot an army man dead in Warpora Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The gunmen fired at Mohammad Rafeeq Yatoo at his home at Warpora.

Yatoo, a soldier with the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI), was at home on leave when he was killed. The militants fired at Yatoo from point blank range and he suffered critical injuries.

A police official said Yatoo was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to injuries.

Meanwhile, the Army, Special Operations Group of Police and CRPF cordoned off the area and launched a hunt to nab the attackers.

On March 8, an Army jawan, who was on leave and visiting his residence in Qazipora Chadura in Kashmir's Budgam was kidnapped by suspected terrorists from his home.

The young soldier belonging to the Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Unit (JAK LI) was on leave till the end of March.

His identity was withheld for security reasons.

Family members of the abducted Armyman informed police that some people came to their house at Qazipora Chadura Rand and took him away.

The abduction came at a time when Kashmir was simmering with tension ever since the Pulwama terror attack by a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist, which killed 40 CRPF jawans.

Amid tensions, the Centre rushed large numbers of additional forces to Kashmir even as a face-off with Pakistan continued unabated.

The abduction brings back memories of 22-year-old Lt Ummer Fayaz, who was abducted and killed by terrorists who picked him up from his residence in Kashmir in 2017.

Ummer Fayaz was on leave for his sister's wedding.

In another incident, Rifleman Aurangzeb was similarly abducted and killed in 2018 while he was on leave and going home for Eid. Aurangzeb's bullet-riddled body was found later.