Srinagar, Sept 30: Security forces killed top Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa in an encounter in the upper reaches of Yousmarg in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district.
Moosa had allegedly escaped during an encounter in Budgam on September 4 month in which close aide Yasir was killed.
“He was under radar and subsequently tracked by security forces in the mountainous forests of central Kashmir after an extensive search,” sources said.
They said an encounter broke out on Tuesday evening in the Korag area of Yousmarg after the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF launched a joint search operation based on specific intelligence inputs.
"Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity and, upon being challenged, terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised. During a search operation in the Palmaidan area early Wednesday, the body of a Pakistan-based LeT terrorist, identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, was recovered along with war-like stores,” army said in a post on X.
The security officials termed the killing of Moosa as a major success for security forces and a major jolt for LeT and militancy.
“Moosa had managed to escape during the September 4 encounter in the high-altitude Ashdar Gali area of Budgam, where his associate and another Pakistani LeT terrorist, Yasir, was killed,” sources said. They said Yasir and Moosa had crossed from the Poonch region into Kashmir and were being tracked by the security forces.
Security officials said Yasir and Moosa had been operating together in the dense forest areas of central Kashmir and the Pir Panjal region since 2023.
MHA in a statement said security forces were pursuing Moosa for long, and, recently a specific all-stakeholder plan for his neutralization was put in place after technical and human intelligence about his movement and presence were received.
“Neutralization of Musa by Indian security forces is a serious blow to LeT ecosystem in the UT of J&K,” the MHA statement said.
It stated that with Moosa’s killing, the entire group of four senior LeT Commanders operating in the UT since 2022, and responsible for sensational attacks, like Halan attack (Aug 2023), DKG attack (Dec 2023), Kandi attack (May 2023), Shahsitar attack (May 2024), Shiv Khori attack (June 2024), Gagangir attack (Oct 2024), Bootapathri attack (Oct 2024) and Baisaran attack (Apr 2025), have been killed.
“The three other members of the group were neutralized by Security Forces in separate encounters of Junaid Bhat (Dec 03, 2024, Dachigam), Suleman (July 28, 2025, OP Mahadev), and Yasir (Sep 04, 2026, Op Asdhar). The current encounter to neutralize Musa was part of an ongoing long-sustained operation,” the MHA said.
“Over the past few years, all security agencies—such as the Jammu & Kashmir Police, the Indian Army, and the CAPF—have been conducting counter-terrorism operations in close coordination, yielding positive results,” added the MHA statement.
The Moosa group had operated in the Pir Panjal region before shifting its base towards the Kashmir Valley and splitting into two groups in 2024, the sources said.
Yasir, who was killed earlier this month, was described by security sources as a key associate of senior LeT commander Sulaiman Shah, who was killed along with two other terrorists in an operation in the forests on the outskirts of Srinagar in July 2025.