Suspected militants on Monday shot dead a personal security guard of Peoples Democratic Party leader Haji Parvaiz Ahmad in Natipora area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city.

Two militants opened fire at constable Manzoor Ahmad and injured him as he was trying to protect the PDP leader, the Hindustan Times reported. The constable was admitted to Bone and Joints Hospital, Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries, the police said.

“Jammu and Kashmir Police led by DGP [Director General of Police] Dilbag Singh salutes the martyr for sacrificing his life for the nation,” the official account of the force tweeted.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the assailant. The PDP leader said the incident took place at his residence and was the third such attack on him.

The incident is the latest in a series of such attacks on civilians and security personnel. On December 9, five civilians were injured in a grenade explosion at the main market in the Singhpora neighbourhood of Pattan in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. A police officer and a civilian were injured on December 6 in cross-firing after an encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Srinagar.

On December 4, unidentified assailants shot at a candidate for the District Development Council polls at Sagam Kokernag area in Anantnag district during the second phase of voting. Anees-ul-Islam Ganie was contesting as an Independent from the Sagam constituency in Anantnag.

Two security force personnel were killed in a suspected militant attack on the outskirts of Srinagar on November 26.