Srinagar: A Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, identified as Sulaiman Shah alias “Musa”, was killed on Tuesday in a fierce exchange of fire with Rashtriya Rifles troops in the remote, high-altitude stretches of Budgam district in central Kashmir, security officials said.
While the Srinagar-headquartered Chinar Corps did not disclose the identity of the eliminated militant, officials later named him as Sulaiman Shah, also known as “Musa”.
The Army said in a post on X that, acting on specific intelligence, it launched a joint operation along with other security agencies in the general area of Korag, Yousmarg, in central Kashmir.
“Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity, and upon being challenged, the terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised,” it said.
Even as the operation continued, officials said “Musa” was killed in the thickly forested, far-flung Dudhpathri sector during the gunfight, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Musa, who had been on the wanted list for his alleged role in multiple attacks on both sides of the Pir Panjal range over several years, had managed to slip away from an earlier encounter in the Yousmarg hills early this month, the officials said.
His close associate Yasir was killed in that encounter on September 5.
Security officials described the elimination of Musa as the biggest blow to LeT’s operational structure in Jammu and Kashmir in recent times.
Further details are awaited.
