527-day manhunt ends for Lashkar operative linked to Pahalgam attack
A 527-day manhunt concluded this week with the death of LeT commander Mohammad Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa, in a gunfight with security forces in Yusmarg. Asif was the last remaining member of a Lashkar-e-Taiba network linked to multiple terror attacks across Kashmir and Jammu, including the April 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, including a local pony operator.
According to officials, Asif had been operating across the Pir Panjal forests and Kashmir Valley for nearly five years as part of a highly organized cell. The group, initially comprising Asif, Yasir, and Sulaiman, infiltrated Jammu's forests in late 2021 and were responsible for several deadly attacks. These included gunfights in Bhatta Durian in Rajouri in October 2021 that killed nine soldiers, an April 2023 strike on an army vehicle killing five soldiers, and a May 2023 explosion in Kandi forest that claimed five 9 Para commandos. The group also targeted army bases at Halan in Kulgam in August 2023, killing four soldiers, and struck an army vehicle at Dera ki Gali in December 2023, killing four and injuring three.
Asif had been operating alone after his associate Yasir was killed in a gunfight at Ashdar Gali near Dodapathri last month. Security agencies confirmed the network's elimination marks the conclusion of the investigation into the interconnected terror incidents across the region.
