Baitullah Mehsud’s dead, confirms Pak Taliban

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
The Associated Press: US missile hits Mehsud's Pakistan stronghold

US missile hits Mehsud's Pakistan stronghold

By ELENA BECATOROS and MUNIR AHMED (AP) – 37 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD — A U.S. missile slammed into a suspected Taliban camp in a lawless Pakistani tribal region Tuesday, intelligence officials and Taliban commanders said, killing anywhere between six and 14 people, a week after a similar strike reportedly took out the group's leader.

Washington and Islamabad have said they are almost certain that last Wednesday's drone strike killed Pakistan's most wanted man, Baitullah Mehsud, even though Taliban commanders have insisted their leader is still alive.

The government publicly opposes U.S. missile strikes, saying they anger local tribes and make it more difficult for the army to operate against the Taliban. But criticism has been muted against last week's attack on Mehsud, who is suspected of masterminding the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and dozens of other suicide bombings.

Tuesday's missile hit a compound in Mehsud's stronghold, South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, two intelligence officials in Islamabad said.

Two other intelligence officials, based in northwestern Pakistan, said the strike had killed 14 militants. All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

However, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said the missile had hit a house, not a militant hide-out.

"Today, an American missile hit a home in South Waziristan," he told an Associated Press reporter by telephone. "Only innocent civilians were living there, and six of them died."

Tariq also repeated assertions that Mehsud was still alive. "I have said it again and again: Baitullah Mehsud is safe. He is in good health," he said.

Differing claims from the Taliban and state authorities about the same event have become commonplace — and most are impossible to verify. The tribal areas are off-limits to foreign journalists and poor security also makes it very difficult for Pakistanis to report there.

Analysts suggest it could be in the interests of top commanders in Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan to deny their leader is dead until they can replace him. Mehsud brought various militant factions under a unified if loose command that posed a major threat to Pakistan's security forces, and his death would be a major blow for the Taliban.

The U.S. rarely acknowledges or discusses the missile strikes, which are carried out by unmanned drone aircraft, but the pace of such attacks in the tribal areas has increased in the past year.

Two Taliban sources told an AP reporter that at least eight drone aircraft had been flying over known Mehsud areas in South Waziristan for the past three days, and that the Taliban was being very cautious of its movements for that reason. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss such issues publicly.

Militant commanders are said to have been holding shuras, or meetings, to discuss who should succeed Mehsud as Taliban leader, but it was unclear whether Tuesday's missile strike targeted such a gathering. A Mehsud deputy on Monday denied reports of infighting over the succession — allegations repeated by the government Tuesday.

"The current position is that their men are scattered, and they are fighting with each other," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters.

As confusion swirled over Mehsud's fate, violence continued to batter the northwest.

At least a dozen rockets slammed into the main city of Peshawar early Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing their homes. At least two civilians were killed and 10 others wounded, police official Nisar Khan said.

Taliban militants often target security outposts in the countryside, but rocket attacks against cities are rare.

"It is an act of terrorism, but we don't know who the attackers were," Khan said.

Hours later, militants attacked a paramilitary Frontier Corps base outside Peshawar, and three militants were killed in the gunbattle, the military said in a statement.

Separately, Frontier Corps troops on an operation clashed with militants in the Khyber tribal region, leaving 17 militants dead, the corps said in a statement. It said six militant bases and an ammunition dump were destroyed. The casualty figure could not be independently confirmed.

Pakistan's military has been winding down a three-month offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley, elsewhere in the northwest, although clashes still break out there.

The army said Tuesday that a soldier was killed during a clash with militants in Swat while authorities arrested 29 suspected militants — including three who turned themselves in — during separate search operations.

Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Riaz Khan in Peshawar also contributed to this report.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
http://www.ptinews.com/news/224687_Prove-Mehsud-is-alive--Pak-govt-challenges-Taliban

Prove Mehsud is alive, Pak govt challenges Taliban

STAFF WRITER 20:6 HRS IST

Islamabad, Aug 11 (PTI) Pakistan government today challenged the Taliban to prove that the terror group's chief Baitullah Mehsud was alive, maintaining that it has "credible and substantial evidence" about the death of the militant commander in a US missile strike.

Pakistani and US officials have said they are certain that Mehsud was killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan on July 5. However, Taliban commanders, including Mehsud's deputy Hakimullah, have claimed that he is alive.

"We have credible and substantial evidence about death of Baitullah Mehsud... now Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan should prove if he is alive," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
AFP: Pakistani Taliban appoint Mehsud's 'successor'

Pakistani Taliban appoint Mehsud's 'successor'

(AFP) – 54 minutes ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Pakistan Taliban have appointed a successor to their feared leader believed to have been killed in a US missile strike, a militant commander said Saturday.

American and Pakistani officials believe Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed earlier this month in a missile attack by US drone aircraft in the lawless South Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

Taliban commanders say Mehsud survived but is seriously ill.

TTP deputy and battle-hardened former teacher Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who announced on Wednesday that he had taken over as acting chief of the group, said a Taliban shura, or council, had made the appointment.

"A Taliban shura has unanimously appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as successor to Baitullah Mehsud," he told AFP by telephone.

"The shura meeting continued for two days and was attended by 22 members," he said.

Residents and intelligence officials in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district, the base of Mohammad, said the militant leader relayed the news of Hakimullah's appointment on his illegal FM radio station.

"The shura has appointed Hakimullah as successor to Baitullah Mehsud. The shura earlier had nominated me as the acting chief but now I will be again deputy chief," an intelligence official quoted Mohammad as saying over the radio.

"I shall continue to be ameer (chief) of TTP in Bajaur," Mohammad said.

Pakistani intelligence officials say TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar, who was arrested this month, has confirmed that Mehsud was killed in a CIA strike on his father-in-law's house on August 5.

"Baitullah is alive but he is seriously sick," Mohammad said, adding: "God forbid if Baitullah is dead, Hakimullah will be his successor."

Hakimullah is considered as close aide of Mehsud, and a powerful commander who operates from the Orakzai tribal district, where US drones have conducted several missile strikes.

Pakistan in late April launched a punishing military offensive against Taliban in the northwest, targeting the rebels in the districts of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir after militants advanced perilously close to the capital.

Last month the military claimed to have cleared the area of the Taliban threat, and vowed to turn their attention to the mountainous tribal belt where Mehsud and his network have thrived since 2007.

Pakistani and US officials accuse Mehsud of masterminding the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a string of other attacks that have killed hundreds of people here over the last two years.

Government officials have said the death of the Al-Qaeda-linked warlord plunged the TTP into disarray, with factions opening up as different commanders vied to lead the militia blamed for hundreds of deaths across Pakistan.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a house Saturday, killing two soldiers and injuring three civilians in the mountain town of Kanju in Swat district, a military spokesman and the local police chief said.

"Security forces had arrested a suicide bomber, he ran away and when chased, entered into a house and blew himself up, killing two soldiers and wounding a woman and two men," the spokesman said.

In another incident a resident was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Swat's Kabal town, police chief Sajid Mohmand told AFP.

There were further casualties in the Khyber tribal district when militants attacked security forces, tribal administration official Rehan Gul Khattak told AFP.

"A woman was killed and six other civilians were injured by a shell fired by militants after it missed its target and landed on a house," Khattak said.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
http://www.ptinews.com/news/242950_Pak-Taliban-planned-to-target-Gilani--Report

Pak Taliban planned to target Gilani: Report

STAFF WRITER 18:29 HRS IST

Islamabad, Aug 22 (PTI) The Pakistani Taliban planned to target Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as well as several other dignitaries and despatched 50 suicide bombers to carry out attacks to avenge the ongoing military offensive against them, according to an intelligence report.

Among the others on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) radar was Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif,

Intelligence sources informed the law enforcement agencies that the TTP had started reorganising despite the ongoing military operations in the Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the North and South Waziristan areas, Geo TV said today citing a media report.

The Taliban sent 50 suicide bombers to Punjab and the NWFP to avenge the military operations and to put pressure on the government to release the militants arrested by the security forces, the sources said.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Baitullah’s relative could have given him away

PESHAWAR: A “paid agent”, possibly a relative, helped signal the whereabouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s former chief Baitullah Mehsud to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), helping it take out the Taliban leader in a drone strike on August 5.

Officials and tribal sources told Daily Times on Saturday that the Taliban were holding Baitullah’s in-laws “hostage”.

The Taliban still deny Baitullah’s death but TTP deputy chief Faqeer Muhammad has named Hakeemullah Mehsud the new Taliban chief. “No new strategy was undertaken while hunting Baitullah. Agents pin-pointed the TTP chief’s position and the CIA took him out through a drone attack,” officials familiar with training agents for tracking down targets told Daily Times. “He (TTP chief) was simply not spotted through the powerful lens fixed on the drone, rather the complete set of procedures laid down for such missions was followed,” the officials said.

A belt wrapped above an agent’s waist carries two electronic chips, the officials said. “The agent pushes the first chip when he finds himself close to the target to intimate the satellite, which transfers the information to the control-room. The second chip is pushed only when the target is present and the agent has moved to a safer place. That is what when the drone is positioned and Hellfire missiles are fired,” officials explained. The Taliban confirmed they had executed a resident of Mardan on charges of spying for the CIA, one week after the August 5 drone attack. The killed man’s family said he had served Baitullah as his driver. The possible involvement of the killed TTP leader’s in-laws in giving away his position was highlighted in a report published by the BBC on Saturday, which said Baitullah’s father-in-law Maulana Ikramuddin, his son Ziauddin, brother Saeedullah and a nephew were in Taliban custody for the last few days. iqbal khattak
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
The Associated Press: Pakistani Taliban choose new chief

Pakistani Taliban choose new chief


By ELENA BECATOROS (AP) – 8 hours ago

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani Taliban have appointed a new chief, militants said Saturday, selecting a top commander known for his ruthless efficiency in staging attacks, including a major hotel bombing and a deadly assault against the Sri Lankan cricket team.

The appointment of 28-year-old Hakimullah Mehsud could herald an increase in attacks as the group tries to prove it is still intact and operational, analysts say. It comes after weeks of speculation and reported infighting among Taliban commanders to replace Baitullah Mehsud, the group's former chief who was reportedly killed in an Aug. 5 CIA missile strike in northwestern Pakistan.

Several top Taliban commanders have insisted Mehsud is alive, but have provided no proof. U.S. and Pakistani officials are almost certain he was killed in the strike.

The government said it was investigating the reports that Hakimullah Mehsud had been chosen as the new Taliban leader.

Two close aides to another commander, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, told The Associated Press that a 42-member Taliban council, or shura, appointed a new head because Baitullah Mehsud was ill.

"I do confirm that a shura held Friday ... has elected Hakimullah Mehsud (as) the new chief of the Taliban," said one of the aides, Bakht Zada, adding that it was a unanimous decision. "Now all these talks of differences should end. There have not been any differences ever."

Mohammad had announced earlier this week that he had taken over interim control of the Taliban until a shura could pick a new leader because Baitullah Mehsud was too ill to lead. Beyond the statements of Mohammad's aides, there was no other confirmation about the new appointment. The commander himself was not reachable.

Pakistan's Taliban is a loose alliance of disparate groups and tribal factions that Baitullah Mehsud had managed to unify, rather than a cohesive unit. If true, the selection of Hakimullah Mehsud is likely an attempt to shore up an organization reeling from the loss of its leader, said Kamran Bokhari, director of Middle East analysis with Stratfor, a global intelligence company.

"It's an attempt to stabilize the group after the initial reports of infighting. ... I think that the group is trying to emerge out of a crisis," Bokhari said, noting that the loss of Baitullah would have been "a massive blow to the organization."

As military chief of Baitullah's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban Movement, Hakimullah commanded three tribal regions and has a reputation as Baitullah's most ruthless deputy. He had been considered one of the top contenders to take over. He first appeared in public to journalists in November 2008, when he offered to take reporters on a ride in a U.S. Humvee taken from a supply truck heading to Afghanistan.

Authorities have said he has been behind threats to foreign embassies in Islamabad, and there is a 10 million rupee ($120,000) bounty on his head. His men have been blamed for attacking U.S. and NATO supply convoys traveling through northwestern Pakistan en route to Afghanistan, and he claimed responsibility for the June 9 bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar, and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this year.

He had also threatened suicide bombings in Pakistani cities in retaliation for a recent army offensive in the Swat Valley, which has been winding down in recent weeks.

While it is unclear whether he will be able to maintain unity within the Pakistani Taliban like his predecessor, he was likely chosen for his operational capabilities, said Bokhari, the analyst, adding that a revival to some degree of suicide bombings could be expected.

"At this point the goal of the TTP is to let the outside world know that it's very much alive and kicking, and how it will do that will be based on its ability or inability to stage suicide bombing attacks," he said.

More attacks would demonstrate that the Pakistani Taliban was intact and able to operate despite recent setbacks, he explained.

"I think that the decision of the shura to appoint this particular individual is based on that consideration."

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government had received intelligence reports about Hakimullah's appointment "as the chief terrorist" but that there was no official confirmation.

Zada said the shura had spoken by phone to Faqir Mohammad and Maulana Fazlullah, the notorious commander of the Taliban in Pakistan's northern Swat Valley, to offer them the slot, but that they both refused citing personal reasons. He said the two said they were not young enough to assume the leadership of the militants. Mohammad is believed to be in his 50s, and Fazlullah between 35 and 40, while Hakimullah is just 28 years old.

Another close Mohammad aide, Sher Zamin, also confirmed that Hakimullah had been elected as the new Taliban chief.

"It is a consensus among all Taliban that Hakimullah Mehsud is the best choice," he told The Associated Press.

Separately, security forces prevented a suicide bomber from entering a civilian area in the town of Kanju in the Swat Valley, the army said. The bomber blew himself up to evade capture after security forces gave chase, killing three soldiers and wounding one more, said spokesman Lt. Col. Akthar Abbas.

Also Saturday, a car bombing in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed at least two people. Senior police official Nisar Ali Khan.

Khan said officers were trying to determine the identity of the victims, who were believed to be members of a militant group, Ansarul Islam. The group has a long-running enmity with Lashkar-e-Islam, and both are accused of trying to impose their own Taliban-style rule in the Khyber region near Peshawar.

Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan reported from Khar. Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad and Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
AFP: Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud dead: militants

Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud dead: militants

(AFP) – 45 minutes ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud died this month after a US missile strike, militant commander Hakimullah confirmed Tuesday, declaring himself the new leader of the militia.

A missile from a US drone aircraft hit the home of Baitullah Mehsud's father-in-law on August 5, and US and Pakistani officials have for weeks been saying they believe the feared warlord was killed.

Taliban officials had until Tuesday denied their leader's demise, as officials and analysts said fierce infighting had broken out among their ranks over who would succeed him as leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Disupting the US and Pakistani version of events, the Taliban said Baitullah Mehsud had survived until August 23.

"Baitullah Mehsud was injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday afternoon," Hakimullah Mehsud, a top aide to Baitullah Mehsud, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"He remained unconscious after being seriously injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday. Now the shura (meeting of elders) has unanimously appointed me as new amir (head) of Tehreek-e-Taliban," Hakimullah Mehsud said.
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
http://www.ptinews.com/news/248281_Pak-Taliban-admits-chief-Baitullah-Mehsud-is-dead

Pak Taliban admits chief Baitullah Mehsud is dead


STAFF WRITER 21:50 HRS IST

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Aug 25 (PTI) After weeks of denial, the Pakistani Taliban today acknowledged for the first time that their chief Baitullah Mehsud has died of wounds sustained in a US drone strike in the country's lawless tribal belt.

Top militant commanders Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman confirmed that the Taliban leader is dead. The 35-year-old died of injuries sustained in the US missile attack in South Waziristan earlier this month, they told the BBC.

Hakimullah has been named as the successor to Mehsud, who was Pakistan's most feared militant and accused of masterminding scores of bombings and suicide attacks. Rehman said Hakimullah had his support as leader and denied reports of differences between the two commanders.

Mehsud was critically injured in the drone attack but died only on Sunday, Hakimullah claimed.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top