Security forces killed a senior Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, Mohammad Asif, better known as Asif Fauji or Hashim Moosa, in the forests of Yousmarg in Kashmir’s Budgam district. The overnight operation on September 29-30 was launched jointly by the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in the Korag area, after specific intelligence about militants there. The Army’s Chinar Corps said troops noticed suspicious movement and challenged the group, whereupon the militants opened fire and a fierce exchange followed, leaving one terrorist dead. Later searches of the nearby Palmaidan area turned up the body along with war-like stores, and the sweep was reported to be continuing.
Officials say Moosa infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in September 2023 and had been active for roughly three years. He first operated on both sides of the Pir Panjal range, particularly in the Poonch forests, before moving to the Budgam and Yousmarg belt in central Kashmir. He is described as being involved in several attacks on security forces across the Poonch-Rajouri region and the Valley. His close associate Yasir, alias Abu Talha, was killed on September 5 in Operation Ashdar in the same general region, while Moosa slipped away then.
Investigators are reportedly examining whether he had any links to the April 2025 Pahalgam attack. The killing is being seen as a significant blow to Lashkar’s foreign-militant presence in the Valley.