Top LeT Terrorist Hashim Moosa Killed in Budgam Encounter

Security forces have killed a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist identified by officials as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. The operation was conducted in the Korag area near Yousmarg on the basis of specific intelligence inputs.

The joint operation, code-named Operation Korag, involved the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). According to the Army’s Chinar Corps, troops observed suspicious movement during the search operation and challenged the suspected terrorists. The terrorists opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire in which one terrorist was killed.

Security forces later recovered the body of the slain terrorist from the Palmaidan area along with war-like stores. A search operation continued in the surrounding areas to determine whether any other militants were present and to recover additional weapons or other material.

Link to Pahalgam Attack

Hashim Moosa had been among the wanted LeT terrorists linked by investigators to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier chargesheeted seven accused, including the Pakistan-based LeT/TRF organisation and Pakistani handler Sajid Jatt, in a 1,597-page chargesheet filed in December 2025.

Security officials have also identified Moosa as being linked to several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few years. Reports have described him as a former Pakistan Special Services Group (SSG) para-commando, though such details have been attributed to security officials.

The latest operation follows the killing of Moosa’s close associate Yasir in an earlier encounter in the Yousmarg hills on September 5. Security forces are continuing search operations in the area.