Operation Ashdar: Pakistani LeT Commander Yasir Killed in Budgam Encounter, Search Continues

A joint operation by the Indian Army's Chinar Corps, Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF — codenamed Operation Ashdar — killed a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba operative in the remote Ashdar Gali/Yousmarg area of Budgam district, central Kashmir, on September 4, 2026. Troops acted on specific intelligence about suspected terrorist movement through the Pir Panjal forest belt; when challenged, the terrorists opened fire, triggering a roughly 12-hour exchange in which one terrorist was killed and an AK-series rifle plus other war-like stores were recovered. The slain terrorist's identity was not established at the time but was confirmed a day later as Yasir, a Pakistani national who had been part of the Sulaiman Musa faction of Lashkar-e-Taiba before splitting off roughly a year earlier to operate independently in the Yousmarg area; Sulaiman Musa, identified as a key planner of the 2025 Pahalgam attack, was earlier killed by Indian forces in Srinagar's Dachigam forest. Security agencies said a search for at least one more suspected terrorist believed to be hiding in the area was continuing into September 5-6, and are investigating Yasir's wider network and any role in recent terror activity in J&K.