All four LeT commanders active in J&K since 2022 are now dead, says Home Ministry
The Army said the Army, J&K Police and CRPF launched a joint search operation in the general area of Korag, Yousmarg in Budgam “based on a specific intelligence input” on the night of September 29. File | Photo credit: Imran Nissar
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) said that after the killing of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district in an operation that began on Tuesday (September 29, 2026), all four senior LeT commanders who had been operating in the Union territory since then are dead22.
According to the MHA, a LeT commander, identified by the Army as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, was killed in a joint intelligence-led operation by security forces at Gurwatkalan in Khansahib area of Budgam district. The ministry said security agencies have been hunting him for a long time and recently implemented a specific multi-agency plan to “neutralize” him after receiving technical and human intelligence inputs on his movements and presence.
The MHA described Moosa’s killing as a major blow to the LeT ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir. It said his death dismantled the entire four-member group of senior LeT commanders operating in J&K since 2022.
The ministry said the group was responsible for several major attacks, including the August 2023 Halan attack, May 2023 Kandi attack, December 2023 DKG attack, May 2024 Shahsitar attack, June 2024 Shiv Khori attack, October 2024 Gagangira attack, October 2024 Ba24 attack in Bootari and April 2024. 2025.
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Suleman, one of these four commanders, was involved in the Baisaran meadow terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, in which 25 tourists and a local man were killed. Suleman was later killed during Operation Mahadev, along with two other Pakistani terrorists, on 28 July 2025.
Apart from Moosa and Suleman, two other LeT commanders operating in J&K were also killed in separate operations, the MHA said. Junaid Bhat was killed in an encounter at Dachigam on 3 December 2024 and Yasir was killed in Operation Asdhar on 4 September 2026.
The ministry said the operation against Moose was part of an ongoing counter-terrorism campaign and reflected close coordination between the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army and the Central Armed Police Forces.
“Over the last few years, all security agencies have been conducting counter-terrorism operations in close coordination, which has yielded positive results,” the MHA said.
Published – 30 Sep 2026 17:19 IST