Srinagar: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a foreigner, who were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday have tested positive for Covid-19, police said.
The samples of the two slain militants were taken for Covid-19 test during medico-legal formalities and their reports came back positive on Sunday, they said.
The militants were killed in an encounter in Arrah area of Kulgam. Three Army personnel man also suffered injuries during the gunfight.
“While carrying out the medico-legal formalities, the samples of the slain terrorists were taken and sent for COVID-19 test. Today, the test reports were received from CD Hospital, Srinagar and both the killed terrorists were confirmed as coronavirus positive,” a police spokesperson said on Sunday.
The bodies of the militants would be taken in protective care ambulance and buried strictly as per the Covid-19 protocol in Baramulla, he said.
According to police, one of the two militants was a foreigner and identified as Ali Bhai alias Hyder. The identity of the second militant hasn’t yet been ascertained.
The spokesperson said since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the burials of militants are carried out at designated places to minimise the risk of people contracting the infection.
Medico-legal formalities, which include post-mortem, DNA and Covid-19 tests, are strictly followed in respect of such slain militants, he said.
IED blast in Pulwama leaves CRPF man injured
Srinagar: A CRPF personnel was injured in a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said.
Security forces also detected and defused another IED in the district later, a police official said.
The official said the IED blast occurred at Gongoo area of Pulwama in South Kashmir this morning as security forces were passing through the area.
He said the CRPF personnel suffered injuries in his hands due to the blast, but his condition is stated to be stable.
The security forces fired few shots in the air after the blast, the official said.
