Budgam Op: With Moosa’s killing, all 4 LeT commanders active in JK since 2022 dead, says MHA

Jammu: With the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, all four senior LeT commanders who had been operating in the Union Territory since 2022 are dead, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).

Moosa was killed in an intelligence-led joint operation by security forces at Gurwatkalan in the Khansahib area of Budgam district. The operation began on Tuesday (September 29).

According to the MHA, security agencies had been pursuing him for a long time and had recently put in place a specific multi-agency plan for his “neutralisation” after receiving technical and human intelligence inputs regarding his movements and presence.

The MHA described Moosa’s killing as a major blow to the LeT network in Jammu and Kashmir. It said the four-member group of senior LeT commanders active in J&K since 2022 had now been dismantled.

The Ministry said the group was responsible for several major attacks, including the Halan attack in August 2023, the Kandi attack in May 2023, the DKG attack in December 2023, the Shahsitar attack in May 2024, the Shiv Khori attack in June 2024, the Gagangir and Bootapathri attacks in October 2024, and the Baisaran attack in April 2025.

Suleman, one of the four commanders, was involved in the terror attack at the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, when 25 tourists and a local man were killed. Suleman was later killed during Operation Mahadev on July 28, 2025, along with two other Pakistani terrorists, the ministry said.

Apart from Moosa and Suleman, the MHA said two other LeT commanders who operated in J&K were killed in separate operations. Junaid Bhat was killed in an encounter at Dachigam on December 3, 2024, while Yasir was killed in Operation Asdhar on September 4, 2026.

The Ministry said the operation against Moosa was part of a sustained counter-terrorism campaign and reflected close coordination among the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army and the Central Armed Police Forces.

“Over the past few years, all security agencies have been conducting counter-terrorism operations in close coordination, yielding positive results,” the MHA said.