A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist wanted in connection with several attacks was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on Tuesday, officials said.
Security officials identified the slain terrorist as Mohammad Asif, alias ‘Hashim Moosa’. He was wanted for his alleged involvement in attacks on both sides of the Pir Panjal range over several years, officials said. He had also reportedly escaped a security operation in the Yousmarg hills earlier this month.
He was killed in Operation Korag, a joint anti-militancy operation conducted by the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps, J&K Police, and CRPF, in the Korag area near Yousmarg in the Budgam.
According to the Army, troops challenged the suspected terrorists after noticing their movement. The militants responded by opening fire, leading to a gunbattle.
“Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity, and upon being challenged, the terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised,” the Army said in a post on X. Moosa was said to be killed in the remote forest area of Dudhpathri during the operation.
The Chinar Corps later said they’d found his body. “Further to the ongoing operation, during the search early morning in General Area Palmaidan, body of Pak based Lashkar-e-Taiba ( LeT) terrorist, identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa recovered along with war like stores,” they wrote on X.
Moosa was reportedly wanted for his alleged involvement in a series of attacks on security forces in the Pir Panjal region. According to security officials, the group he was associated with was linked to attacks in Poonch and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir that killed several Army and security personnel between 2021 and 2024.
