SRINAGAR: A senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, also known as Asif Fauji, has been killed in an intelligence-led joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in Budgam district, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.
The operation was launched after security agencies received specific intelligence about Moosa’s presence in the Yousmarg-Korag area of central Kashmir. According to the Army’s Chinar Corps, troops observed suspicious movement during a search operation and challenged the militants, following which they opened fire, triggering an exchange of fire in which one terrorist was killed.
The MHA said security forces had been pursuing Moosa for a considerable period and had recently put in place a coordinated, multi-agency plan to track and neutralise him. His killing, the ministry said, is a “serious blow” to the LeT ecosystem in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Moosa was among the senior foreign LeT commanders who had been active in Jammu and Kashmir for several years. Security agencies had identified him as a high-value target and had been tracking his movements through intelligence inputs. Reports citing security officials said he had infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in 2023 and subsequently operated across the Pir Panjal and central Kashmir regions.
According to intelligence inputs cited in reports, Moosa was allegedly involved in several attacks on security forces, including the Halan attack in Kulgam in August 2023, the Dera Ki Gali (DKG) ambush in December 2023, the attack on an Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch in May 2024 and the Botapathri attack near Gulmarg in October 2024.
Security agencies had also been examining his links with the wider LeT network operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Reports said Moosa had remained in contact with senior LeT handlers, although officials cited in those reports distinguished him from the group that directly carried out the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
The operation in which he was killed followed an intelligence input that was passed to the Army’s 15 Chinar Corps. According to reports, Moosa was located in the Budgam area and was killed late on Tuesday night. Weapons and communication equipment, including an AK-47 rifle, magazines and communication devices, were subsequently recovered from the site, officials said.
The Army’s Chinar Corps said the joint operation was launched in the general area of Korag, Yousmarg, on the basis of specific intelligence inputs. The operation involved the Army, J&K Police and CRPF.
Moosa’s killing also marks the elimination of another senior member of a four-member LeT group that security agencies had been tracking in connection with a series of attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the MHA-linked account reported on Wednesday. The other members identified in that group were Junaid Bhat, Sulaiman and Yasir, who were killed in separate operations between 2024 and 2026.
