India
Security forces kill LeT commander linked to Pahalgam attack
The Indian Express··2 Oct
Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Mohammad Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa, was killed Wednesday in a gunfight with security forces. Officials linked his network to the April 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. Investigators said Asif infiltrated Jammu forests in late 2021 with associates Yasir and Sulaiman. Officials alleged the group killed nine soldiers in Bhatta Durian gunfights in October 2021.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Residents near Pir Panjal forests may see continued joint army, police and paramilitary patrols after the killing.
- Tourist areas linked to past attacks, including Pahalgam, remain under the security posture built after April 2025.
- Families of soldiers killed in earlier Rajouri-Poonch strikes may follow updates as investigators trace the module.
What's Happening
- Asif had been acting alone after Yasir was killed in Ashdar Gali last month, officials said.
- Five troopers from the Indian Army's 9 Para unit died on May 5, 2023, in an explosion in Rajouri's Kandi forest.
- In August 2023 the group targeted an army temporary base at Halan in Kulgam, killing four soldiers.
The Hunt Timeline
- Sulaiman was killed in a gunfight with army paratroopers in Dachigam forests four months after Pahalgam.
- Junaid Ahmad Bhat, 24, joined the group in July 2024 after police said he had joined The Resistance Front.
- Security teams tracked Asif and Yasir to Ashdar Gali on September 5 after months of intelligence inputs.
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