SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 30: A wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba commander identified by security officials as Sulaiman Shah alias Fauzi Musa was killed in an encounter with security forces in the higher reaches of Budgam district late Tuesday, marking a significant counter-terrorism development in the forested Yousmarg-Dudhpathri belt of central Kashmir.
The operation, codenamed Operation Korag, was launched jointly by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force following specific intelligence about terrorist presence in the general area of Korag near Yousmarg.
The Army’s Chinar Corps said troops conducting the search detected suspicious movement and challenged those involved. The terrorists opened fire, triggering an exchange in which one was killed. The operation remained in progress after the initial gunfight.
Initial reports from the area had described an encounter underway at Gurwethkalan in Budgam, with security forces establishing a cordon after receiving intelligence about terrorist presence.
Officials subsequently identified the slain terrorist as Sulaiman Shah alias Fauzi Musa, describing him as a senior and wanted commander of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. PTI reported, citing security officials, that Musa had been involved in attacks on both sides of the Pir Panjal range over several years.
The identification gives the operation greater significance than the initial encounter report suggested.
Musa had reportedly escaped an encounter in the Yousmarg hills earlier in September. His associate Yasir was killed by security forces in that operation on September 5, while Musa was believed to have escaped into the surrounding forest belt. Security forces subsequently continued efforts to locate him in the difficult terrain.
His death therefore appears to bring to an end a pursuit that intensified following the earlier Yousmarg encounter.
A photograph circulating after Tuesday night’s operation shows four armed men identified in social-media posts as Abu Talha, Suleman, Junaid Ahmed and Hashim Musa. Posts accompanying the photograph claim that all four have now been killed in separate counter-terrorism operations.
What is independently supported by current reporting is the identification of the terrorist killed on Tuesday as Sulaiman Shah alias Musa and the earlier killing of his associate Yasir in the same broader Yousmarg area.
The geography of the operation is important. Yousmarg, Dudhpathri and the adjoining higher reaches form part of a heavily forested and mountainous belt that provides routes through difficult terrain towards areas south of the Pir Panjal.
Security officials have increasingly focused on forest belts and higher reaches while tracking small groups of terrorists whose movement is considerably harder to detect than in populated areas.
Reporting from the encounter site said the difficult forest and mountainous terrain prompted forces to proceed cautiously while maintaining the cordon. Searches continued after Musa was killed amid concern that additional terrorists could be present in the area.
Some early reports suggested as many as three other terrorists might have been trapped. That number had not been officially confirmed by the Army in its initial statement and should therefore not yet be treated as established.
Similarly, more detailed claims circulating about Musa’s background, including reports that he had previously served in Pakistan’s Special Services Group before joining Lashkar-e-Taiba, require stronger official corroboration before being presented as established fact. Amar Ujala reported the claim citing security sources, but the Army’s initial public statement did not provide such biographical details.
The Chinar Corps initially confirmed only that one terrorist had been killed and that the joint operation remained underway.
For security forces, Musa’s killing is significant because officials describe him as an experienced LeT operative who had remained active across the Pir Panjal belt and had successfully escaped an encounter only weeks earlier. PTI cited officials describing his death as a major setback for Lashkar’s network in Jammu and Kashmir.
The continuing operation will determine whether Musa was operating alone when intercepted or whether other members of the group remain inside the forested area.
