Baitullah Mehsud’s dead, confirms Pak Taliban

[Daredevil]

More and more it looks like Mehsud is dead.

Is Pakistan's Taliban Chief Dead?

By TIME Staff
American and Pakistani officials say it looks more and more likely that Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief who had a $5 million bounty on his head, is dead. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told reporters in Islamabad on Friday Aug. 7 that, "According to my intelligence information, the news is correct. We are trying to get on-the-ground verification to be 100% sure. But according to my information, he has been taken out." Local Pakistani media, citing "tribal sources" in South Waziristan, are reporting that Mehsud's funeral prayers had been held and that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's shura, or council, was meeting today to choose Mehsud's successor. (See pictures of the battle against the Taliban.)

It may be days, or weeks, before confirmation is obtained. Hellfire strikes often obliterate targets, leaving little for investigators to work with. Pakistani officials are reportedly trying to collect material evidence, but U.S. intelligence officials will also be paying close attention to chatter on the Taliban's communication channels. "Taking Mehsud off the battlefield would be a major victory," says a U.S. counterterrorism official. "He has American blood on his hands with attacks on our forces in Afghanistan. This would also affirm the effectiveness of our government's counterterrorism policies." (Read "Pakistan Takes On Taliban Leader Mehsud.")

If confirmed, Mehsud's death would bring to a dramatic end a short but terrifying career. Over the past two years, Mehsud, who is believed to be about 35, emerged from near obscurity to claim a place in a hall of infamy along with the Saudi Osama bin Laden, the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri of al-Qaeda (who are still at large) and the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed while leading the radical insurgency in Iraq. Cagey, dogged and charismatic, Mehsud had a knack for uniting disparate factions around a common cause; he transformed the badlands of South Waziristan into the most important redoubt for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda. He denied involvement in the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but he was not unhappy about it: the Pakistani government produced an alleged message from him congratulating the perpetrators: "Fantastic job. Very brave boys, the ones who killed her."

With a reported 20,000 militants at his command, Mehsud was believed to have been the architect of the 2008 bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, the mastermind behind a terrorist cell uncovered in Barcelona that same year and the dispatcher of numerous suicide bombers in South Asia. Earlier this year, he threatened a massive terrorist attack on Washington that would "amaze everyone in the world." (Read "Islamabad After the Marriott Bombing: The Baghdad Effect.")

An uneducated Pashtun tribesman from a modest clan, Mehsud reportedly came from a family that made their living driving trucks. Though given to boasting about his grand plans for inflicting mass murder, Mehsud was also cautious. He shunned photographers — there are no definitive portraits — traveled in convoys protected by armed guards and hopped between safe houses. Despite his bellicose rhetoric, Mehsud was also described as baby-faced and jocular in person.

As a teen, Mehsud served as a Taliban fighter against the Soviets in the battle for Afghanistan, but first rose to prominence as a supporter of Abdullah Mehsud (no relation), a one-legged militant imprisoned at the U.S. prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, soon after the 9/11 terror attacks. Baitullah Mehsud quickly leapfrogged his boss, and his ascension up the jihadi ladder was made apparent in 2005, when — swathed in a black cloth to shield his face — he negotiated the public signing of a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government. (Read "Why Pakistan Balks at the U.S. Afghanistan Offensive.")

Indeed, under the cover afforded by the agreement, Mehsud was once touted by a Pakistani army official as a "good Taliban." He used that goodwill to tighten his grip on Waziristan quickly, converting the rugged region into a haven where militant groups could freely operate camps and training facilities. The assassination of Bhutto and subsequent attacks attributed to Mehsud turned him into a prime target of the Pakistani government. In June 2009, key roads were choked as Pakistani military aircraft began strafing targets from the air. CIA-operated drones also went to work, attacking sites associated with Mehsud. On Wednesday, one of their missiles may have found its mark.

 

[Kabuli]

Don't know what to feel ?
He is, afterall, a RAW Agent, an ISI agent and also a Patriotic Pakistani on the payrolls of Zionist and Brahmins.

No, he was an uncircumcised Hindi-speaking CIA agent.

 

[IBRIS]

Zaid Hamid must be really pissed off right now...that CIA took him out instead of Pakistani Army.

 

[hit&run]

big blow to Pakistani game plan....................elaboration on demand; please.

 

[Pintu]

The Associated Press: Lethal drone strike bolsters use of such attacks

Lethal drone strike bolsters use of such attacks

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (AP) – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The lethal drone attack that apparently killed a top Taliban leader in Pakistan is likely to bolster America's dual effort there: solidifying a sometimes shaky partnership with Islamabad while pursuing insurgents hidden along the country's border.

American officials and analysts said it may be too early to tell if the strike that apparently killed Baitullah Mehsud will prompt Pakistan to sustain its suddenly active campaign against Taliban and other militant leaders in the lawless region bordering Afghanistan.

But taking out Pakistan's most wanted terrorist provides validation for the continued use of the unmanned air assaults that have been hammering insurgents there since late last year. Pakistani and U.S. intelligence officials said the drone attack against the home of a Mehsud relative was carried out by the CIA.

The strike gives a boost to the Obama administration's remapping of counterterrorism policy, a strategy that melds persistent attacks against insurgents with the expanded use of "soft power," such as economic development, to help win public support against terrorists around the world.

Counterterrorism officials would not disclose details behind the strike, but American and Pakistani commanders have been working more closely together in recent months, sharing intelligence and coordinating attacks, officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence matters.

Some experts cautioned that the U.S.-Pakistani partnership is still fragile and a tough sell domestically in Pakistan. They worry that the elimination of Pakistan's most dangerous internal threat could just as easily tamp down Islamabad's enthusiasm for future operations in the rugged South Waziristan tribal region.

U.S. authorities said Friday they are increasingly confident that Mehsud was killed in Wednesday's U.S. missile strike in northeastern Pakistan.

"This is an important step for the U.S.-Pakistani relations," said Juan Zarate, former top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration. "Mehsud was really a charismatic figure that was able to galvanize — based on his history, his experience and his brutality — his militaries to attack Pakistan and U.S. interests."

Mehsud had increasingly turned his attention to U.S. and other Western targets as he directed suicide attacks and sent recruits across the border into Afghanistan, said Zarate, now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Complaints by some Pakistani leaders that the Americans had refused on earlier occasions to target Mehsud were largely dismissed by U.S. officials. The use of armed drones ramped up in the waning days of the Bush administration and has continued at a busy pace during the first seven months of Obama's term.

U.S. officials said Mehsud has been a target for some time although there may have been targeting disagreements in the past. One U.S. counterterrorism official said there are sometimes conflicts over tactics, even as the broader goals remain the same.

The use of drone strikes in Pakistan has long been focused on high-priority al-Qaida leaders such as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, but in recent months top Taliban figures such as Mehsud also came into range.

U.S. officials say choices also take into account the quality and timelines of the intelligence about possible targets as well as the availability of resources, conflicts with other operations and concerns about possible consequences such as civilian casualties.

Last year U.S. and Pakistan military officials met in a secret session in which Pakistani leaders agreed to target al-Qaida operatives in return for greater U.S. action against militant tribal leaders such as Mehsud who were a more significant threat to Pakistan.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has traveled to Pakistan no fewer than 13 times in the past two years, meeting with his military counterparts to foster better coordination.

As U.S. counterterrorism officials worked to nail down details of the strike and its impact on the insurgency, the Taliban were holding a "shura" council to choose Mehsud's successor, intelligence officials and militants told The Associated Press.

That gathering, U.S. officials said, underscores the group's ability to re-energize itself and could convince Pakistan of a need to continue its military operations in the tribal region.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the operation "demonstrates the amount of cooperation that you're seeing between our government and the government of Pakistan in stamping out the Taliban, al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that would seek to destabilize the area."

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called Mehsud's death "a sign that our joint efforts with Pakistan's military to combat al-Qaida and other terrorists are working."

 

[gokulakannan]

This might be another drama of pak.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Baitullah Mehsud is alive: Pak Taliban​

New Delhi: In a new twist, a militant commander and deputy to Baitullah Mehsud on Saturday reportedly said that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief is alive. Baitullah is hiding at a covert place, Hakimullah Mehsud said, refuting earlier reports that the Pak Taliban chief was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan on August 05. According to the latest news report, Hakimullah claimed that Baitullah was still holding the command of Taliban fighters. The Taliban commander further vowed to release a recorded video of Baitullah in the coming days. Hakimullah Mehsud, who controls fighters in the Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber tribal regions, said the reports of Baitullah's death were "the handiwork of the intelligence agencies," the BBC Urdu service website said.

Notably, Pakistan was “pretty certain" on Friday that Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack. However, the US had declined to confirm his death. Earlier in the day, local intelligence officials had acknowledged that a CIA missile strike that ‘probably’ killed Pakistan's Taliban chief was carried out with Islamabad's help, indicating growing coordination between the two countries on battling militants despite Pakistan's official disapproval of the strikes. For Pakistan, the al Qaeda-linked Baitullah is its No 1 internal threat. He is suspected in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and numerous suicide attacks across Pakistan.

Link

 

[venkat]

Pakistan is increasingly becoming cunning and deceptive ! Dont ever trust this bloody hell hole!

 

[Pintu]

Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Pakistan Taliban denies leader dead

Pakistan Taliban denies leader dead

The government in Islamabad is confident that Mehsud
was killed in a US missile attack [EPA]



A senior commander in the Pakistani Taliban has dismissed as "ridiculous" reports that the group's leader was killed in a US missile attack in South Waziristan.

Haikmullah Mehsud told reporters by telephone on Saturday that Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5m bounty on his head, was in good health and would soon appear in the media to prove that he was alive.

There has been widespread speculation that Mehsud was killed, along with his wife and bodyguards, after a US drone aircraft fired missiles at his father-in-law's house in the village of Makeen earlier in the week.

Haikmullah Mehsud, who would be a leading contender for the leadership, said that the claims were "black propaganda" aimed at luring the Pakistani Taliban leader into the open so that he could be targeted.

His claims were echoed by Maulana Merajuddin, who heads a delegation representing Mehsud's tribe in Islamabad.

"I believe that what we have heard by media sources during the past few days on the killing of Mehsud is incorrect," he told Al Jazeera.

"My sources from local citizens in Waziristan confirm that Mehsud is alive and doing well."

'Pretty certain'

There has been no physical evidence of Mehsud's death and previous claims of his death have proved to be false, but Pakistani officials are confident that a number of signs point to the fact that he has been killed.

On Saturday, one of Mehsud's bodyguards was buried in the town of Mardan, sources have told Al Jazeera, and there have been reports of a meeting of senior Pakistani Taliban fighters to decide on a successor to Mehsud.

Shah Mehmoud Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, said on Friday that he was "pretty certain" that the missile attack had been succesful.

"Various government agencies have reported so, his own followers have said so, there are people who have been to the funeral and are witness to the burial," he told UK-based BBC radio.

A number of intelligence officials have said that Mehsud's body was buried in Nargosey, a tiny settlement about 1km from the site of the reported attack.

The Associated Press news agency quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that the US missile attack came after Pakistani officials passed on information about Mehsud's whereabouts to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Pakistan's government formally condemns Washington's use of unmanned drones over its territory as violating Islamabad's sovereignty and acting as a recruiting tool for Taliban in the region.

'Joint disaster'

The US refuses to confirm suspected attacks by its drones, but the US military in Afghanistan and the CIA are the only agencies in the region with the technology.

"If Mehsud turns up alive on television screens it would mean that the joint operation was another joint disaster," Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said.

"The American drone policy in the tribal areas is almost turning the entire population against the United States, anti-American feeling is very high."

Qureshi said that Mehsud's death could lead to divisions in the Taliban.

"With him gone, I think there is going to be an internal struggle and disarray in their ranks, I think it will set in demobilisation. It is a great success for the forces that are fighting extremism and terrorism in Pakistan," he said.

But Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, warned that such groups can "regenerate another leader".

"I don't want to make more than one should of a single individual," he said.

The US and Pakistan have said that Mehsud is linked to al-Qaeda and has been involved in dozens of suicide attacks, beheadings and assassinations, including the killing of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister.

His estimated 10,000-20,000 fighters have been blamed for a wave of suicide attacks inside Pakistan and on Western forces across the border in Afghanistan.

 

[Pintu]

Baitullah Mehsud's death is a good thing, if correct: US - US - World - NEWS - The Times of India

Baitullah Mehsud's death is a good thing, if correct: US
IANS 8 August 2009, 11:48am IST

WASHINGTON: Even as Islamabad was "pretty certain" that Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack, Washington declined to confirm his death, but said if correct it would undoubtedly make Pakistani people safer.

"We have obviously seen reports - even by members of the Taliban - that Baitullah Mehsud is dead. We can't, with a hundred percent certainty, verify that," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday when asked about Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's remark that "It is pretty certain now that he is dead."

"What I will say is this: If the reports of Baitullah Mehsud's death are correct, there is no doubt that the Pakistani people are safer as a result of it," Gibbs said when asked what would Mehsud's death mean for the President Barack Obama's strategy of stabilising Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

"This is an individual whose title as a murderous thug was well-deserved. He is somebody who helped plan and execute the deaths of scores of individuals, innocent civilians ... through anything ranging from deadly suicide attacks to planning the assassination of (former premier)Benazir Bhutto," Wood said.

"So his demise is a good thing for the Pakistani people, he said suggesting it "demonstrates the amount of cooperation that you're seeing between our government and the government of Pakistan in stamping out the Taliban, al- Qaida, and other terrorist organizations that would seek to destabilise the area."

At the State Department Spokesman Robert Wood too would not confirm Mehsud's death but said "Mehsud has been responsible for a number of atrocious terrorist attacks against people from around the world. And we will continue to work with other countries around the world to fight the scourge of terrorism."

Wood would not speculate about what it may or may not mean. "But again, this is a long-term struggle that we are in against violent extremism, and we're going to continue to try to confront that challenge as best we can with our partners around the world."

 

[Pintu]

Pakistani Taliban says Masud is alive

Baitullah alive, in hiding as part of 'war strategy': Pak Taliban

Baitullah alive, in hiding as part of 'war strategy': Pak Taliban

'The elimination of Mehsud would constitute a
significant victory for Pakistan's fight against
terrorism.'

Posted: Saturday , Aug 08, 2009 at 1700 hrs

Islamabad:

Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud has not been killed in a US drone attack earlier this week, his deputy said on Saturday, creating confusion whether the most wanted militant commander was dead or alive.

Hakimullah Mehsud, who heads Taliban fighters in the Orakzai tribal region, told several media organisations, including BBC's Urdu service, that Baitullah Mehsud was "alive and in a safe place".

The 35-year-old militant leader had gone into hiding as part of the Taliban's "war strategy," Hakimullah claimed.

The Pakistan government said on Friday that it had received reports from intelligence agencies about Mehsud's death in a drone attack on his father-in-law's home in South Waziristan on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Mehsud had "been taken out".

However, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Mehsud's death could be confirmed only after receiving material evidence. He said the government planned to exhume the body of Mehsud's brother, buried at Bannu in the North West Frontier Province, to obtain DNA samples that could be used for possible tests.

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Analysts noted that Hakimullah is among militant commanders tipped to take over as chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and said his claim could be aimed at holding up the naming of Mehsud's successor by the Taliban 'shura' or council of leaders.

Leading security analyst Mehmood Shah, who has served in the tribal areas, said the Taliban could be covering up the news of Mehsud's death as they are facing problems in electing a new chief.

Hakimullah also claimed Pakistani intelligence agencies, the military intelligence and the US Central Intelligence Agency had attempted to lure Mehsud out of hiding but they had failed.

"Baitullah Mehsud has adopted a war strategy like Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar to lead his men from an undisclosed location," he said.

He claimed Mehsud would soon release a video message or talk to the media to deny reports of his death. "We were watching that the media is telling lies," he said.

A former parliamentarian from South Waziristan, Maulana Mirajuddin, too claimed reports about Mehsud's death were false. Mirajuddin, considered to be close to militant commanders in Waziristan, told reporters in Islamabad that according to his information, Mehsud had not been killed in the drone attack.

Meanwhile, the driver of Mehsud, who was killed in the drone attack, was buried in his hometown of Mardan in the NWFP, local residents said today. The body of Muhammad Qasim was brought to his village last night, his relatives said.

According to the relatives, Qasim had been missing for a year. During his last visit to his village, he had told his parents he would not come back.

 

[Pintu]

AFP: War not won despite 'death' of Taliban chief: Islamabad

War not won despite 'death' of Taliban chief: Islamabad

(AFP) – 1 day ago

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's media and civil society on Saturday welcomed the suspected death of Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, saying it will dent extremists' efforts despite warnings it does not equal victory.

Pakistan said Friday it believed Mehsud, the charismatic commander of the Pakistani Taliban, had been killed in a US drone attack in a major blow for the Islamist militants.

Senior officials in Pakistan's powerful security establishment who supervise operations in Mehsud's Waziristan stronghold said the warlord was dead, but the government said it was seeking verification.

"Mehsud's elimination will leave a positive impact on terror-stricken people," leading Pakistani rights activist Farzana Bari told AFP.

Bari, head of the Gender Studies department at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam university, said the government and the military needed to completely eliminate the country's terrorist infrastructure.

"Mehsud's death will quadruple people's confidence in the government and the armed forces, which are already engaged in an offensive against Taliban militants in the northwest," Bari said.

The US Central Intelligence Agency, with the tacit cooperation of Islamabad, has carried out dozens of attacks in Pakistan using unmanned Predator and Reaper drones over the past year, but declines to discuss the strikes publicly.

Islamabad and Washington had said liquidating Mehsud was a strategic aim in the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists whom the United States has accused of posing an existential threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"I believe that Mehsud's death will greatly help improve (the) law and order situation but the overall impact will not be lasting," said Rakhshanda Naz, another rights activist, who runs non-governmental organization the Aurat Foundation.

"Mehsud's death will pose a setback for the TTP but it will be temporary and the group is to step back with a new leader."

She said that the problem could not simply be solved by eliminating one individual, saying: "We have to strike at their roots to rid our society of terrorism and extremism."

Mehsud, who had a five-million-dollar US bounty on his head after Washington branded him "a key Al-Qaeda facilitator," had reportedly narrowly escaped previous attacks.

"His death is a success but does not represent a war won, which is yet far off and perhaps years away," Pakistani newspaper The News said in its editorial.

"The greatest battle will to be to win back the predominantly youthful hearts and minds that his perverted view of the world and of Islam had turned to dark thoughts and dark ways."

"Win that battle and we will truly have won the war," the paper added.

Another local English-language newspaper, Dawn, said: "If he is indeed dead -- and many credible sources have independently suggested that he is in fact dead -- then a devastating blow has been struck right at the heart of the TTP." "The state must assess whether an immediate full-fledged operation in the Waziristan will degrade a demoralised TTP to the point that revival will be all but impossible," it added.

Taliban commanders have neither confirmed nor denied Mehsud's demise. But top militants in his umbrella group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) gathered in his South Waziristan stronghold on Friday ahead of an expected announcement.

"According to our information, Taliban commanders held two rounds of meetings on Friday to elect their new chief," one local official said on condition of anonymity.

Confirming the meetings, another official said there still didn't seem to be an agreement amongst commanders on who should succeed Mehsud.

 

[Pintu]

Fighting erupts between Taliban rivals-Pakistan govt | Reuters

Fighting erupts between Taliban rivals-Pakistan govt
Sat Aug 8, 2009 12:58pm EDT

* Taliban were meeting to pick successor to Baitullah Mehsud

* Reports one or both rivals may have died in shooting
(adds Taliban official saying government fabricated reports)

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The Pakistani government has received reports that shooting broke out between two rivals for the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban, and one of them may have been killed, the interior minister said on Saturday.

Pakistani news channels were carrying unconfirmed reports that Hakimullah Mehsud, one of the movement's most powerful commanders, had been killed at a shura, or council meeting, held to decide who would succeed slain leader Baitullah Mehsud.

"The infighting was between Wali-ur-Rehman and Hakimullah Mehsud," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters. "We have information that one of them has been killed. Who was killed we will be able to say later after confirming."

A Taliban official in South Waziristan, where the meeting took place, told Reuters the government had fabricated reports of fighting between the different factions.

Noor Said, who had been a deputy spokesman under Baitullah, said: "There was no fighting in the shura. Both Wali-ur-Rehman and Hakimullah are safe and sound."

Western governments with troops in Afghanistan are watching to see if any new Pakistani Taliban leader would shift focus from fighting the Pakistani government and put the movement's weight behind the Afghan insurgency led by Mullah Mohammad Omar.

An intelligence officer in South Waziristan said he had reports that Hakimullah Mehsud died in the shooting after heated exchanges between the rivals at the meeting held around 4:30 p.m.(1030 GMT).

"According to reports Wali-ur-Rehman fired and killed Hakimullah Mehsud," the official said.

State-run Pakistan Television (PTV) said there were reports that both leaders might have been killed in a shoot-out.

The shura was called in Taliban-controlled territory in Waziristan, a northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.



DRONE ATTACK

Earlier in the day Hakimullah Mehsud had telephoned journalists to deny that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in a missile strike by U.S. drone aircraft on Wednesday.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday the government was "pretty certain" that Mehsud perished in the missile blitz on Wednesday that also killed his second wife, a brother, seven bodyguards and destroyed his car.

Some analysts had anticipated the Pakistani Taliban's leadership would be split over who should become the next chief and the denial aimed to buy time until a new leader was chosen.

Hakimullah, who controls fighters in the Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber tribal regions, is regarded as one of the leading contenders to replace Baitullah Mehsud, who had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head.

Wali-ur-Rehman is another shura member and a former spokesman for Baitullah.

Qureshi had anticipated the death of Mehsud would leave a void in the Taliban movement that could lead to divisions.

"With him gone, I think there is going to be an internal struggle and disarray in their ranks, I think it will set in demobilisation. It is a great success for the forces that are fighting extremism and terrorism in Pakistan," Qureshi told BBC radio late on Friday. (Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Robert Woodward)

 

[Pintu]

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan demands Taliban evidence

Pakistan demands Taliban evidence

Pakistan's interior minister has challenged the Taliban to prove their leaders are still alive, after reports that two of them have been killed.

Rehman Malik told the BBC officials had non-physical evidence that the top commander, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US missile attack on Wednesday.

He said intelligence suggested a shoot-out later broke out between Mehsud's potential successors in which one died.

The Taliban has accused the interior ministry of making up the incident.

However, the militant group's spokesmen were also unable to offer any physical evidence to disprove the government's claims.

'Credible information'

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Malik denied the allegation that the Pakistani security forces had no evidence proving that Mehsud was killed along with one of his wives in a strike on his father-in-law's house in the Zangarha area, north-east of Ladha, on Wednesday.

The news regarding our
respected chief is propaganda by
our enemies
Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud


"The day before yesterday, there was credible information coming from inside the area that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed," the minister said.

"This credible information had come right from sources based in South Waziristan, and particularly in Ladha."

But Mr Malik admitted that the government did not have "any material evidence so far confirming that Baitullah Mehsud is dead".

He said intelligence suggested that a "scuffle" had broken out between Mehsud's potential successors in Waziristan on Friday in which one of them, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed. Local media also said a shoot-out had happened.

"Obviously, it is not a story made up by us. This fight must have happened because of the succession," he added.

Mr Malik said Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, the other leader allegedly involved in the shootout, had long been hostile towards each other.

"They had been fighting in the past and we have information that there has been enmity between Waliur and Hakimullah since they were fighting together in Kurram valley," he said. "Hakimullah was replaced by Baitullah Mehsud with Waliur."

On Saturday morning, however, Hakimullah Mehsud told the BBC by telephone that reports of his and Mehsud's death were "ridiculous".

"The news regarding our respected chief is propaganda by our enemies," he said.

"We know what our enemies want to achieve - it's the joint policy of the ISI [Pakistani intelligence service] and FBI - they want our chief to come out in the open so they can achieve their target."

He said the Pakistani leader had decided to adopt the tactics of Osama bin Laden and stay silent. He said he would issue a message in the next few days.

But Mr Malik challenged the Taliban to prove their version of events.

"If Baitullah Mehsud is alive, or Hakimullah is alive, why don't they bring out a video. Every telephone has a camera on it. They can just get one out and show people that they are alive. I challenge them."

Believed to command as many as 20,000 pro-Taliban militants, Mehsud came to worldwide attention in the aftermath of the 2007 Red Mosque siege in Islamabad - in which the security forces confronted and forcibly ejected militant students loyal to him.

He has been blamed by both Pakistan and the US for a series of suicide bomb attacks in the country, as well as suicide attacks on Western forces across the border in Afghanistan.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

A night with new wife cost Mehsud his life?​

London: It was probably his desire to spend a night with his second wife that proved fatal for Pakistani Taliban Chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone attack at his father-in-law's house, a media report said on Sunday. 35-year-old Mehsud had taken the risk of spending the night with his second wife around 1 am last Wednesday, 'The Sunday Times' reported. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander had four daughters from his first wife, but, in the tribal lands of Waziristan, it is only the birth of a boy that is greeted by rifle fire and jubilation, it said.

Last November, Mehsud took a second wife, the daughter of an influential local cleric, and was spending the night with her at her father's house in the village of Zangarha when the missiles hit, the paper said. The report said that in the end it might have been the desire for a son that led to the Taliban leader's demise. A diabetic, Mehsud had been feeling poorly in the scorching summer heat of Waziristan and the local doctor was also called to give him a glucose drip, the report said. As he lay on a couch on the roof of his father-in- law's house tended by his new wife, a drone's cameras locked in on him and a command was given thousands of kms away in the Nevada desert, following which two Hellfire missiles tore into the mud-walled building, it said.

Quoting a Pakistani intelligence officer based in the nearest town, Makeen, the paper said Mehsud's torso had been "totally damaged except for his head”. Initial reports spoke about the death of Mehsud's wife and two of his fighters. But suspicions were raised when a large funeral was held the next day in the nearby village of Narghasi - under local tradition bodies must be buried by sunrise the following day. "Our information is that Mehsud, his wife and seven guards were killed," Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday. "But we're still waiting for material evidence to confirm it totally."

Link

 

[Pintu]

SCENARIOS-What next if Pakistani Taliban chief dead - or not? | Reuters

SCENARIOS-What next if Pakistani Taliban chief dead - or not?

Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:25pm IST

(For more on Pakistan & Afghanistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK])

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Pakistani and U.S. officials say they are quite certain that Pakistani Taliban chief and al Qaeda cohort Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a missile strike by a U.S. drone in the South Waziristan tribal region last week.

But with other Taliban commanders saying Mehsud is alive and independent verification extremely difficult in the remote Mehsud lands, no one knows for certain whether he was killed.

Following are some possible outcomes of the aftermath of the raid and their potential impact on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Western countries that have troops stationed in the region.

CHAOS IN TALIBAN RANKS

The death of Mehsud, head of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan (TTP), could sow disarray in the loose alliance of over a dozen militant groups that he has been holding together, as rival commanders vie for power.

A splintering of the Taliban would be a major coup for Pakistan, hindering the militants' ability to conduct coordinated terrorist attacks, as the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 fighters under his command are subsumed under the individual commanders.

Mehsud fighters are already facing tremendous pressure after security forces cordoned off their strongholds in Waziristan as part of a government order to the military in June to pursue Mehsud and his group.

Analysts say Mehsud's death could further dampen the spirits of his fighters and generate power struggles among his commanders.

Such an eventuality could enable the government to exploit divisions, analysts say, by winning over moderate militants to isolate more hard-core elements.

SEARCH FOR A STRONG SUCCESSOR

Aware of such risks, Taliban leaders and their sympathisers could redouble efforts at unity while choosing a successor to Mehsud.

Mehsud's Taliban allies in Afghanistan, as well as al Qaeda, could try to forge unity in the ranks of Mehsud's commanders as they attempt to choose a new leader, analysts say.

While a new leader would take time to consolidate his position, analysts say he might try to forge an alliance with other Taliban factions to counter the government's efforts to exploit the split caused by Mehsud's death.

Two major Taliban groups operating outside Mehsud's TTP are led by Maulvi Nazir Wazir and Hafiz Gul Bahar. Each group has around 5,000 men, according to a diplomat, and until recently they have avoided attacking Pakistani forces.

The two groups have expressed frustration over growing missile strikes by U.S. drones and focused on helping the Taliban in Afghanistan. Any increased link between the TTP and the groups could create more difficulty for Western forces in Afghanistan.

MAJOR LOSS FOR AL QAEDA?

Diplomats in Islamabad doubt Mehsud's death would help Western troops fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan as most of his focus has been on attacking Pakistan's government and security forces.

The death of Mehsud would, however, be a major loss for al Qaeda as he is considered a major ally of Osama bin Laden's group and has reportedly provided sanctuary to its operatives.

Security officials and analysts believe that Mehsud used al Qaeda's expertise in some of the high-profile attacks he has masterminded.

MEHSUD LIVES -- AND SEEKS REVENGE

If claims of Mehsud's death prove untrue, it will seriously dent the credibility of the Pakistani government at a time when it urgently needs to maintain public support for its efforts to combat militancy.

Such an eventuality would be a major morale-booster for Mehsud's loyalists. Mehsud, considered a shrewd war strategist, could intensify his reprisals against the government. (Editing by Jason Subler and by Ron Popeski)

 

[Pintu]

The Associated Press: Pakistan: Al-Qaida has role in Taliban succession

Pakistan: Al-Qaida has role in Taliban succession

By NAHAL TOOSI (AP) – 59 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is worried that al-Qaida is trying to install its own "chief terrorist" as the head of Pakistan's Taliban following the apparent killing of the group's leader in a CIA missile strike, a top official said Monday.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik told BBC radio that all the "credible information" points to Baitullah Mehsud having died in the Wednesday attack, despite claims to the contrary by some Taliban leaders.

The Pakistan Taliban appear in disarray, Malik said, amid unconfirmed reports of deadly infighting over who should replace Mehsud.

"It will take some time for them to regroup," Malik said. "The other thing which is a bit worrying is that al-Qaida is getting grouped in the same place, and now they are trying to find out somebody to install him as the leader, as the chief terrorist, in that area."

Malik said Pakistan was taking "all those measures which are necessary" to respond to the scenario.

The 30-something Mehsud grew in power largely because of his links to the predominantly Arab terror network, analysts say. Mehsud and his deputies controlled swaths of Pakistan's tribal belt along the Afghan border, a region where al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is rumored to be hiding.

Al-Qaida is believed to have provided guidance and funding to Mehsud, who in turn could provide suicide bombers and other assets to carry out attacks throughout Pakistan.

Malik did not specify which candidate might be al-Qaida's preference, though it is highly unlikely that Pakistan Taliban fighters would agree to an Arab candidate or anyone not of the Pashtun ethnic group that dominates the tribal belt.

American and Pakistani government and intelligence officials, as well as some Taliban commanders and at least one rival militant, have said Mehsud likely died in Wednesday's drone strike on his father-in-law's house in the South Waziristan tribal area. President Barack Obama's national security adviser, James Jones, said Sunday the U.S. was 90 percent confident Mehsud had been killed.

But several Taliban commanders have insisted Mehsud is alive in calls to reporters. A purported Mehsud representative posted a statement on jihadist Web sites used by the Afghan Taliban, saying Mehsud is in "excellent health," according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors militant Internet traffic.

Neither side has produced any concrete evidence, and the claims were impossible to verify independently.

Conflicting reports of whether a major fight had broken out between rival Taliban factions during a meeting, or shura, to select Mehsud's replacement have also emerged.

Some reports said one or both of the leading contenders — Hakimullah and Waliur Rehman — were killed or wounded. But one Taliban commander, Noor Sayed, denied there had been any disagreement.

Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is a loose alliance of tribal groups that often have disputes and power struggles, so removing the man who coordinated the factions could lead to intense rivalry over who would succeed him.

It could be in the interests of top commanders to deny their leader was dead until they could agree on who would replace him.

Two intelligence officials and two Taliban sources told an AP reporter a series of shuras were held in various locations in South Waziristan, a rugged, lawless area largely off-limits to journalists.

They said while the meetings were attended mainly by local commanders in the initial days, Sunday's shura also attracted Afghan Taliban representatives and Arab fighters eager to resolve differences over Mehsud's succession.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Two separate incidents Monday underscored that militancy in Pakistan is not dead even if Mehsud may be.

Three suspected militants were killed by troops retaliating after a remote-controlled bomb exploded near a security checkpoint in North Waziristan, two other intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

The army confirmed the clash but said casualties were unconfirmed.

A roadside bomb detonated near a local government official's vehicle in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. City police chief Safwat Ghayur said the official was safe, but that his guards began shooting after the blast, killing a passer-by and wounding another.

Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Rasool Dawar in Mir Ali contributed to this report.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/221944_-Al-Qaeda-plans-to-install-its-commander-as-Pak-Taliban-chief-

'Al-Qaeda plans to install its commander as Pak Taliban chief'

STAFF WRITER 16:45 HRS IST

London, Aug 10 (PTI) The dreaded al-Qaeda is trying to install one of its commanders as the new "chief" of Pakistani Taliban, which it fears is in disarray, following the slaying of group's leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike.

Expressing this fear, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that hardcore elements of al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban were alarmed over unconfirmed reports of deadly infighting between Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) factions over who should replace Mehsud.

Malik claimed over BBC radio that the Taliban were fleeing from Waziristan area following the killing of their top commander in Pakistan and hope that through this new developments, the country's tribal and border region would open up.

Malik said all the "credible" information pointed to Mehsud having been killed in Wednesday's missile attack, despite claims to the contrary by the Taliban.

 

[venkat]

there are two talibans! one good taliban and the other the bad taliban! according to paki definitions as per news report, good taliban is theone which does not attack ISI and pak army installations and only attacks targets in afghanistan and the bad taliban is bad because it attacks ISI and [Mod edit]Pakistani army! LOL...its bad taliban that is good for india! That implies baitullah mehsud should have been good for India! what we should have done to ISI, perhaps he was doing ! [Mod edit]Pakistanis have become so cunning and deceptive ,dont ever trust them! There is nothing called good in pakistan!

 

[Pintu]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/08/10/world/international-uk-pakistan-taliban-commander.html

Pakistan Taliban Commander Says He, Mehsud Alive

By REUTERS
Published: August 10, 2009

Filed at 10:41 a.m. ET

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A close aide to Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, believed by Pakistani officials to have been killed in a shootout with a rival, said on Monday both he and Mehsud were alive.

But Baitullah Mehsud, the aide said, was ill and would take no action that would make it easier to hunt him down.

The comments by Hakimullah Mehsud compounded confusion that has surrounded Mehsud's reported death in a U.S. missile attack last week.

"Both I and our amir (leader) Baitullah Mehsud are alive," Hakimullah Mehsud told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Pakistani and U.S. officials say they are quite certain that Baitullah, an al Qaeda cohort, was killed in the missile strike delivered by a drone on his father-in-law's house in the South Waziristan tribal region last Wednesday.

Baitullah's second wife, whom he married late last year, perished in the attack.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday that Hakimullah had been involved in a shootout with a rival for the Taliban leadership, Wali-ur-Rehman, and that one of them was reportedly killed. Pakistani intelligence officials and media reported that Hakimullah was most probably dead.

Wali-ur-Rehman, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location to Reuters on Sunday, also denied that any tribal council meeting, or shura, had taken place to decide on a successor to Baitullah.

AIDE CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT

Hakimullah said there had been no shura as Baitullah was alive.

"I have proven the government's claim of my death wrong and I challenge the government to prove the death of our amir. Baitullah Mehsud is alive, safe and sound," he said.

The Taliban, he said, would produce evidence within days to prove Baitullah was alive. "Let the interior minister prove he is dead. If the interior minister fails to prove Baitullah Mehsud's death, then I will produce evidence that he is alive."

Hakimullah echoed comments by another Taliban official that Baitullah, who suffers from diabetes, was ill.

"Drones are still flying in the area. The government is provoking Baitullah to speak on the telephone so that he can be targeted and killed, but he will not do so," he said.

But Interior Minister Malik insisted on Monday that Baitullah was dead.

"We may not have material evidence for now, but we have credible information from intelligence agencies that he has perished," he told the National Assembly, parliament's lower house.

Independent verification of the claims and counter-claims is extremely difficult as the Mehsud lands where the U.S. missile struck the house of Baitullah's father-in-law are remote and inaccessible.

(Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Jason Subler and Ron Popeski)