Srinagar: Security forces on Tuesday night killed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, officials said. The operation brought an end to an extended search for the militant, who was allegedly active across the Poonch-Rajouri region and parts of the Kashmir Valley.
The encounter took place in the Korag forest area near Yousmarg after security forces launched a joint operation following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the heavily forested terrain. The operation involved the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
According to officials, security personnel detected suspicious movement and challenged the suspected terrorists. The militants responded with gunfire, triggering an encounter in which Moosa was killed.
Moosa was also known by the alias Fauji, reportedly because of his military-style appearance and training. Security agencies had assessed that his training bore similarities to that of the Pakistani Army or its elite Special Services Group (SSG).
According to security sources cited in reports, Moosa was a resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), while his father had served in the Pakistani Army. These details formed part of the security agencies’ assessment of him as a highly trained foreign terrorist operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
Alleged Links to Multiple Attacks
Moosa came under heightened scrutiny following the Pahalgam terror attack, after which security agencies reportedly linked him to the incident during their investigation. He was subsequently identified as a key LeT operative being tracked by Indian security forces.
He was allegedly involved in several attacks targeting security forces in the Poonch-Rajouri belt before moving through the Pir Panjal mountains and operating in the Kashmir Valley.
Security agencies have linked members of Moosa’s wider LeT group to several attacks, including the December 2023 Dera Ki Gali ambush, the May 2024 attack on an IAF convoy in Poonch and the October 2024 Bota Pathri attack near Gulmarg.
The group reportedly included Yasir, Musa, Junaid Ahmed Bhat and Sulaiman Shah. Junaid was killed in December 2024, while Sulaiman Shah was killed near Srinagar in July 2025.
Hunt Intensified After Yasir’s Death
The operation against Moosa intensified after his close associate Yasir was killed in an encounter in the higher reaches of Yousmarg on September 5.
Following Yasir’s death, security forces expanded their search across the mountainous and forested terrain, where Moosa was believed to have moved deeper into the Pir Panjal range.
The subsequent operation in Korag was launched on the basis of specific intelligence inputs regarding terrorist movement. Security forces eventually located the suspected militants and engaged them, resulting in Moosa’s death.
The Pir Panjal’s dense forests and difficult mountainous terrain have historically posed operational challenges for security forces tracking militant movement between the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley.
