A Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa (Musa) was neutralised during an intelligence-led operation in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on 29 September 2026, bringing to an end a prolonged hunt for the terrorist who had been linked to multiple attacks in the Valley, including the Pahalgam terror attack.
The operation, designated Operation Korag, was conducted by the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police based on specific intelligence inputs regarding the presence of terrorists in the area near Yousmarg.
According to the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps, vigilant troops observed suspicious activity during the operation. When the suspected terrorists were challenged, they opened fire, triggering a fierce exchange of gunfire in which one terrorist was neutralised.
In an update following the encounter, the Army said that during a search in the General Area Palmaidan, the body of the Pakistan-based LeT terrorist identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa was recovered along with “war-like stores”. The operation remained under progress as security forces continued searches in the area.
Lashkar-e-Taiba and described him as a former Pakistani para-commando. The Times of India reported in April 2025 that investigators had identified Musa as a former para-commando of Pakistan Army special forces and that he had been sent to Jammu and Kashmir by LeT handlers.
Reports in April 2025 also described the possibility that Musa had received training associated with Pakistan’s Special Service Group (SSG). A security official quoted by The Times of India said it was possible that he had been “loaned” by Pakistan’s special forces to LeT, although that characterization was presented as an assessment by the official rather than an independently established fact.
The reported military background of Musa had emerged during investigations into the Pahalgam attack. According to reporting at the time, security agencies had questioned Kashmiri overground workers suspected of providing logistical support and reconnaissance assistance to terrorists. His alleged military training was considered relevant to the manner in which the attackers operated and evaded security forces.
Hashim Moosa had been identified by Indian security agencies in the aftermath of the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. Reporting at the time identified him as a Pakistani terrorist working with
Musa was also identified in 2025 reports as Hashim Musa alias Suleiman. The Indian Express reported that the two Pakistani terrorists suspected of involvement in the Pahalgam attack were believed to have entered Jammu and Kashmir around a year and a half earlier as part of a group of infiltrators from Pakistan.
Investigative reporting subsequently identified Musa as a common link in the Pahalgam attack and earlier attacks in Kashmir. The Week reported in April 2025 that technical evidence was being examined by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to establish common links between the Pahalgam, Gagangir and Gulmarg attacks, with Musa identified as the common link by investigators.
Musa was linked in contemporary reports to the October 2024 attack at Gagangir in Ganderbal, in which seven civilians working at a construction site were killed, and the October 2024 attack in the Bota Pathri area of Baramulla, where Army personnel and porters were killed.
The reporting in April 2025 also stated that Musa had allegedly been operating as part of a Pakistan-based LeT network in Jammu and Kashmir. His reported role in multiple attacks made him a significant target for security agencies conducting counter-terror operations in the Valley.
Following the Pahalgam attack, security forces intensified efforts to locate the foreign terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Investigators examined technical evidence, local inputs and the activities of overground networks as part of efforts to trace the attackers and their support structure.
Musa subsequently remained a wanted terrorist and was reportedly active in the Pir Panjal region. He had also managed to evade an earlier security operation in the upper reaches of Yousmarg on 5 September 2026.
According to the information released following the latest operation, security forces intensified their search for Musa after the September encounter in Yousmarg. He was reportedly believed to have moved further into the jungles and rugged terrain of the Pir Panjal range.
The terrorist group associated with Musa had also been linked to attacks in Poonch and other areas of Jammu and Kashmir between 2021 and 2024. Members of the group included Yasir, Junaid Ahmad Bhat and Sulaiman Shah, according to the information provided.
Sulaiman Shah was killed in an operation on the outskirts of Srinagar in July 2025, while Junaid Ahmad Bhat was killed in December 2024. Yasir was eliminated during an encounter in the upper reaches of Yousmarg on 5 September 2026.
The group had been associated with several attacks on security personnel and other targets. These included the Dera Ki Gali ambush in December 2023, the attack on an Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch in May 2024 and the Bota Pathri attack near Gulmarg in October 2024.
The neutralisation of Hashim Moosa during Operation Korag followed this prolonged sequence of operations and intelligence efforts aimed at locating foreign terrorists operating in the region.
The operation also demonstrated the role of coordinated intelligence and joint action by the Indian Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police. Specific intelligence inputs led security forces to the area, where suspicious movement was detected and challenged before the exchange of fire.
Following the encounter, security forces continued search operations in the General Area Palmaidan. The recovery of Moosa’s body along with war-like stores was reported by the Army as the operation remained in progress.
The case of Hashim Moosa had attracted significant attention after the Pahalgam attack because of reports linking him to multiple terror incidents and describing his background as that of a Pakistani-trained para-commando. Those reports were based on information attributed to Indian security and investigative sources at the time.
With his neutralisation in Budgam, security forces have now recovered the body of a Pakistan-based LeT terrorist who had remained a wanted figure in the counter-terror campaign and had been linked by investigators and security sources to the Pahalgam attack and earlier attacks in Kashmir.
The search operation following Operation Korag continued, with security forces conducting further searches in the area and examining the recoveries made during the operation.
