Srinagar, Oct. 1 -- A top terrorist of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba killed in a gunfight in the higher reaches of central Kashmir's Budgam district on Tuesday was a retired havildar from the Pakistan Army's elite Special Services Group (SSG), who once served in former president Pervez Musharraf's security detail, officials said on Wednesday. Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa alias Fuji was a close associate of Suleman Shah, described as the main architect of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead. Suleman was killed along with two other militants on the city outskirts, and his killing was announced by Union home minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha, saying that he was responsible for the Pahalgam attack. Musa was killed in a joint operation by the Army and other security forces in the higher reaches of Korag, Yousmarg, late Tuesday night. Security officials said he had been involved in high-profile attacks, especially in the last three years, which saw a surge in targeted ambushes and strikes against both military personnel and civilians. He infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 and was serving as the LeT's chief operations commander in the region. His killing concluded an intensive five-year hunt but also rendered the Pakistan-based terror group leaderless in the region, officials said. Musa had recently crossed from Poonch into Budgam district and was moving through dense forests after his accomplice Yasir was killed earlier this month. Yasir was killed in that encounter in the Yousmarg heights on September 5; Musa managed to escape. An army spokesman on Wednesday said that after an encounter, a search operation was carried out early in the morning. "The body of the terrorist was recovered along with war-like stores," he said. Sources said that Musa was part of a group of four who had carried out several attacks in the Jammu region and later crossed into the Valley and got scattered into two groups. During his 23-year tenure with the Pakistani military, Asif spent 18 years in the SSG. Between 2006 and 2008, he was deputed to the security detail of former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf. During his service, he underwent specialised VVIP protection training in the United States and completed medical courses with US Special Forces, officials said. Following his retirement from the army, Asif, whose service number was PA-3106947, was handpicked by terror handler networks initially to train cadres before being infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir to lead LeT operations, the statement added. The Union home ministry said that security forces were pursuing Musa for long, and recently a specific all-stakeholder plan for his neutralisation was put in place after technical and human intelligence about his movement and presence were received. Terming the operation a breakthrough, officials said that Musa was directly involved in over a dozen major strikes against security personnel and civilians. These included the Hallan attack in Kulgam on August 4, 2023, the Dera Ki Gali ambush in Poonch on December 21, 2023, the Indian Air Force convoy attack on May 4, 2024, in Shastar, Poonch, and the Army convoy attack on October 24, 2024, in Buta Pathri, Gulmarg, which claimed the lives of 12 soldiers, the statement said. "Neutralisation of Musa is a serious blow to the LeT ecosystem in the UT of J&K. With Musa's killing, the entire group of four senior LeT Commanders operating in the UT since 2022, and responsible for sensational attacks, stands neutralised," the statement said. The statement said the three other members of the group were killed by security forces in separate encounters - Junaid Bhat on December 3, 2024, in Dachigam; Suleman Shah on July 28, 2025, in Operation Mahadev; and Yasir on September 4, 2026, in Operation Asdhar....