Overview
- Indian Army forces killed Mohammad Asif, known as Hashim Moosa, during a high-altitude operation in Yousmarg in central Kashmir, an action officials say ends a five-year hunt for the senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commander.
- Security officials allege Moosa masterminded the 2025 Pahalgam massacre and led or directed about a dozen attacks on civilians and security personnel across Jammu and Kashmir.
- Officials say Moosa was wounded in an earlier encounter in Dorimal-Gambhir Moghla during Operation Sheruwali and then hid in the Poonch‑Rajouri forests while security forces conducted a 45-plus day clearance and hunt operation.
- Forensic material recovered from the phone of Moosa’s associate Yasir included photos of honey-applied bullet wounds that were reportedly sent to handlers in Pakistan who instructed that pure honey be procured.
- Medical experts cited in the reporting say honey can have antimicrobial and wound‑healing effects but stressed that clinical care needs sterile, medical‑grade preparations and thorough wound cleaning, and that the claim Moosa was an ex-SSG commando remains officially reported but not independently verified.