Srinagar, Sep 30: Senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Musa alias Asif Fauji was killed in an intelligence-led joint operation by security forces at Gurwatkalan in Khansahib area of Budgam district, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.
According to the MHA, security forces had been tracking Musa for a long time and recently intensified efforts after receiving specific technical and human intelligence inputs about his movement and presence.
The ministry described his killing as a major setback to the LeT network in Jammu and Kashmir, saying Musa was the last of a group of four senior LeT commanders who had been operating in the region since 2022 and were allegedly linked to several major attacks.
The MHA said the group was associated with attacks including Halan in August 2023, Kandi in May 2023, DKG in December 2023, Shahsitar in May 2024, Shiv Khori in June 2024, Gagangir and Bootapathri in October 2024, and Baisaran in April 2025.
The three other commanders, identified as Junaid Bhat, Suleman and Yasir, were killed in separate operations, the ministry said. Junaid Bhat was neutralised at Dachigam on December 3, 2024, Suleman during Operation Mahadev on July 28, 2025, and Yasir during Operation Asdhar on September 4, 2026.
The MHA said the operation against Musa was part of the sustained ‘Operation Sheruwali’, launched in May 2026. Public reports have previously described Operation Sheruwali as a multi-agency counter-terror operation in Rajouri’s Dorimal-Gambhir Mughlan forest belt.
The ministry said Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army and Central Armed Police Forces have been conducting counter-terror operations in close coordination over the past several years, with intelligence-based operations forming a key component of the effort.
