A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist wanted in connection with several attacks was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on Tuesday, officials said. The slain terrorist was identified as Mohammad Asif, alias ‘Hashim Moosa’.

Officials said Moosa was wanted for his alleged role in attacks carried out on both sides of the Pir Panjal range over several years. He was also linked to a group accused of attacks on security forces in Poonch and other areas of Jammu and Kashmir between 2021 and 2024. Several Army and security personnel were killed in these attacks, according to security officials.

Moosa was killed during Operation Korag, a joint anti-militancy operation carried out by the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The operation was conducted in the Korag area near Yousmarg in Budgam.

The security forces launched the operation after troops detected the movement of suspected terrorists in the area. The terrorists opened fire when the troops challenged them, triggering a gun battle.

“Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity, and upon being challenged, the terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised,” the Army said in a post on X.

The encounter took place in the remote forest areas around Dudhpathri. Security forces continued search operations in the area after the gunfight. Moosa had reportedly managed to escape a security operation in the Yousmarg hills earlier this month.

The Chinar Corps later confirmed that the body of the Pakistan-based LeT terrorist had been recovered during a search operation.  Officials said the recovery took place early Wednesday in the General Area Palmaidan.

“Further to the ongoing operation, during the search early morning in General Area Palmaidan, the body of Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba ( LeT) terrorist, identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa recovered along with war-like stores,” they wrote on X.

Security officials said Moosa had been a key target in the operations against militant networks active across the Pir Panjal region. His alleged links to multiple attacks had made him a wanted terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir.

The operation continued after his killing as security forces searched the surrounding forest areas for possible threats and recovered war-like stores from the site.