Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has suffered a "serious blow" with the killing of its senior commander Mohd Asif alias 'Musa' in an encounter in the higher reaches of Budgam in central Kashmir, a Union Home Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
In an intelligence-led joint operation by security forces, Musa, also known as Asif Fauji, was neutralised on Tuesday at Gurwatkalan in the Khansahib police station area of Budgam district, the spokesman said in a statement.
The statement said that the Army and other central security agencies were pursuing Musa for long, and, recently a specific "all-stakeholder plan for his neutralisation was put in place after technical and human intelligence" about his movement and presence was received.
"Neutralisation of Musa by Indian security forces is a serious blow to LeT ecosystem in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," the statement said.
With Musa's killing, the entire group of four senior LeT commanders operating in the UT since 2022, and responsible for sensational attacks like Halan attack (Aug 2023), DKG attack (Dec 2023), Kandi attack (May 2023), Shahsitar attack (May 2024), Shiv Khori attack (June 2024), Gagangir attack (Oct 2024), Bootapathri attack (Oct 2024) and Baisaran attack (Apr 2025), stands neutralised, it said.
The three other members of the group were killed by security forces in separate encounters earlier -- Junaid Bhat on December 3, 2024, Dachigam, Suleman (July 28, 2025, Operation Mahadev), and Yasir (September 4, 2026, Op Asdhar).
"The current encounter to neutralise Musa was part of an ongoing long-sustained operation," the statement said.
The spokesman said that over the past few years, all security agencies, such as the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the paramilitary forces, have been conducting counter-terrorism operations in close coordination, which is "yielding positive results".
(With inputs from PTI)
