Army, J&k Police Neutralise LeT Commander Hashim Moosa, Mastermind of Shiv Khori & IAF Convoy Attacks, Killed in Budgam

Srinagar: Indian army along with Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday neutralised Hashim alias Moosa, a Pakistani terrorist long linked to some of the deadliest strikes in Jammu & Kashmir.

Joint security recovered the body of a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, along with war-like stores during a search operation in the general area of Palmaidan in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

Sources in the security establishment described Moosa as “the last surviving operative of a four-member module that had orchestrated a series of high-profile attacks targeting both civilians and security forces,”.

His name had surfaced after forensic recovery of photographs during Operation Dachigam, and since then he was tracked as one of the Valley’s most wanted.

Moosa’s group first came into prominence in August 2023 at Halan, Kulgam, when they ambushed an Army patrol. The attack was sudden and intense, leaving four soldiers martyred and one injured.

“It was the strike that announced Moosa’s presence,” an intelligence officer recalled, adding how the group used forest cover to their advantage.

In December 2023 at Dera Ki Gali, Poonch, the group mounted a carefully planned ambush on Army vehicles moving through the sector.

Firing from elevated positions, they killed five soldiers and injured two others, officials revealed it as a “classic guerrilla strike,” exploiting terrain .

By May 2024, Moosa’s men escalated their operations, targeting an Indian Air Force convoy near Shahistar, Poonch. The rare strike on the Air Force left one air warrior dead and five injured.

Sources said the attack was meant to demonstrate reach beyond the Valley and drew nationwide condemnation.

The most brutal assault came in June 2024 at the Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi, where Moosa’s group opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims. The attack killed nine civilians and injured 43 others, leaving survivors in shock.

“It was an attack on faith itself, designed to terrorise ordinary people,” a police officer said. The strike was widely condemned as one of the deadliest civilian-targeted assaults in recent years.

Later, in October 2024 at Bootapathri, Baramulla in north Kashmir, Moosa and an associate struck an Army convoy. The attack killed two security personnel and two civilians, while injuring others.

By then, the group had split, but Moosa continued operations despite the neutralisation of his associates. “He tried to keep the module alive,” an officer added.

Moosa’s associates, Junaid Ramzan Bhat, Suleman Shah, and Yasir were neutralised in separate operations between 2024 and 2026. With Moosa’s death, officials said the entire network has been dismantled.

“This is justice for the victims of Shiv Khori, Poonch, and Baramulla. His elimination closes a bloody chapter,” officer added.

Pertinently, search operations continued in Yousmarg late into the evening to ensure no further threats persisted in the area.

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