All four senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders seen together in a photograph that went viral after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack have now been killed in separate security operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The last of the four, Musa alias Asif Fauji, was killed in an intelligence-led operation in Budgam on Tuesday (September 29).
The four commanders had been operating in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022 and were linked by the Ministry of Home Affairs to several terror attacks. Their deaths came through separate encounters between December 2024 and September 2026.
Musa was the last of the four
Senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Musa, alias Asif Fauji, was killed in an intelligence-led joint operation at Gurwatkalan under the Khansahib police station in Budgam district, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement issued through the Press Information Bureau.
Security forces had been tracking Musa for a long period. A specific operation was planned after technical and human intelligence provided inputs about his movement and presence in the area.
With his killing, all four senior LeT commanders seen together in the widely circulated photograph following the Pahalgam attack have now been neutralised.
The other three commanders were Junaid Bhat, Suleman and Yasir. They were killed in separate encounters in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The photograph later gained significance after investigators identified Suleman as one of the terrorists involved in the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
Junaid Bhat killed in Dachigam
Junaid Bhat, a Lashkar commander from Kulgam, was the first of the four to be killed.
He was killed in an encounter in the Dachigam forest area of Srinagar on December 3, 2024.
Bhat had been linked to the 2024 attack near a tunnel construction site in Gagangir, Ganderbal, in which seven people were killed.
The Ministry of Home Affairs later listed him among the four senior LeT commanders who had been operating in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022.
Suleman killed during Operation Mahadev
Suleman was killed by security forces during Operation Mahadev on July 28, 2025, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He was another member of the four-man group shown in the viral photograph.
Investigators later identified Suleman as one of the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, giving his presence in the photograph added significance.
Yasir Killed in Operation Ashdar
Yasir was the third commander from the group to be killed.
Jammu and Kashmir Police identified him as a Pakistani national associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was killed during Operation Ashdar in Budgam in September 2026.
The PIB said the encounter took place on September 4, 2026, while other reports citing Jammu and Kashmir Police placed it on September 5.
Yasir’s death left Musa as the only surviving commander among the four men seen together in the photograph.
Musa’s killing completes the four-man takedown
Musa remained under sustained surveillance before security forces launched the operation that killed him in Budgam.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the four commanders were responsible for several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few years.
The attacks attributed to the group include the Kandi attack in May 2023, Halan attack in August 2023, Dehra Ki Gali attack in December 2023, Shahsitar attack in May 2024, Shiv Khori attack in June 2024, Gagangir and Bootapathri attacks in October 2024, and the Baisaran attack in April 2025.
The Baisaran attack was the terror strike in Pahalgam after which the photograph of the four commanders surfaced widely.
From viral photograph to four separate encounters
The photograph showed the four men together in combat gear. At the time, it circulated widely on social media after the Pahalgam attack.
Their subsequent deaths unfolded over nearly two years.
Junaid Bhat was killed in December 2024, followed by Suleman during Operation Mahadev in July 2025. Yasir was killed during Operation Ashdar in September 2026. Musa, the last surviving member of the group, was killed in Budgam in the latest operation.
The sequence has now brought the four-man group to an end.
Junaid Bhat: Killed in Dachigam, Srinagar, on December 3, 2024.
Suleman: Killed during Operation Mahadev on July 28, 2025.
Yasir: Killed during Operation Ashdar in Budgam in September 2026.
Musa alias Asif Fauji: Killed in an intelligence-led operation in Budgam on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the deaths of all four commanders mark the neutralisation of the senior LeT group that had been operating in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022.
