Security agencies step up surveillance and checking following neutralisation of last surviving member of four-member LeT commander group
Jammu and Kashmir has been placed on high alert following the killing of top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Hashim Musa, also known as Asif Fauji, in a joint operation in Budgam district.Intelligence inputs suggest that Pakistan-based terror handlers, rattled by the loss of a key commander, could attempt retaliatory strikes or disrupt peace in the Union Territory.
The Ministry of Home Affairs described Musa’s elimination as a “serious blow” to the LeT ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir. He was the last surviving member of a four-member group of senior LeT commanders that had been operating in the region since 2022 and was linked to a series of major attacks. With Musa’s death, the entire group has been neutralised.
Following the encounter, security forces have significantly tightened the security grid across several districts, particularly in the Kashmir Valley. Additional checkpoints and barricades have been put in place at strategic locations, while security personnel and vehicles have been deployed along major roads and routes connecting Srinagar with other districts.
Mobile surprise checks, vehicle searches and night patrolling have also been intensified. Patrols along the Line of Control have been doubled in sensitive sectors.
Security agencies step up vigilance
Officials said agencies have received inputs that Pakistan-backed terror groups could attempt to target security installations, religious places, VVIPs, migrant workers and main or crowded markets.
The groups could also attempt attacks or target killings to create fear and reassert their presence following the loss of a key commander, officials said.
The existing security apparatus has been further strengthened, with the J&K Police, Army, CRPF and intelligence agencies maintaining close coordination. Surveillance has also been enhanced across vulnerable and sensitive areas to detect and neutralise any potential threat.
Security agencies are simultaneously focusing on the remaining estimated 35-40 foreign terrorists, mostly Pakistani nationals, believed to be active in Jammu and Kashmir. These include some Jaish-e-Mohammed cadres, along with their local over-ground worker networks.
The heightened security posture reflects the assessment that while the dismantling of the top LeT module is a major operational success, the threat posed by Pakistan-based handlers remains. Agencies are therefore maintaining sustained vigilance across the security grid, from border areas to urban centres.
Hashim Musa encounter
Musa was neutralised in an intelligence-led joint operation involving the Special Operation Group (SOG), Indian Army and CRPF in the Kavan forest area of Budgam on the night of September 29, 2026.
His body, along with war-like stores, was recovered the following morning during searches in the Palmaidan area.
The operation was part of an initiative launched in May 2026 to target foreign terrorists and their networks operating in the forests of the Pir Panjal region.
Three other LeT commanders were killed earlier
The other three members of the four-member group were eliminated in separate operations.
Junaid Bhat was killed on December 3, 2024, in Dachigam. Suleman was eliminated on July 28, 2025, during Operation Mahadev, while Yasir was killed on September 4, 2026, during Operation Asdhar.
According to the MHA, the group was linked to several attacks, including Halan in August 2023, Kandi in May 2023, Dera Ki Gali (DKG) in December 2023, Shahsitar in May 2024, Shiv Khori in June 2024, Gagangir and Bootapathri in October 2024, and Baisaran in April 2025.
Musa was also named in connection with the Pahalgam attack in April 2025.
