Budgam: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, officials said. His body was subsequently recovered along with war-like stores during a search operation in the Palmaidan area.
Security agencies had been tracking Moosa, a Pakistan-based operative, for his alleged involvement in multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Reports based on security sources have described him as a former Pakistan Army Special Services Group (SSG) commando who later joined LeT.
Moosa had also emerged as a key suspect in the investigation into the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people. The wider investigation has focused on the role of Pakistan-based LeT operatives and their networks.
The operation in Budgam was launched following specific intelligence inputs, with the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF involved in the joint search operation.
