US drone strike in North Waziristan kills Hakimullah Mehsud, head of Pakistan Taliban, according to Al Jazeera sources.
A US drone strike in Pakistan has killed Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistani sources have told Al Jazeera.
“We can confirm Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in the drone strike,” said the source on Friday.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamad, said that Pakistan’s Taliban has also confirmed Mehsud’s killing.
“This may prove to be a game-changer,” he said.
Four security officials confirmed his death to Reuters news agency. His bodyguard and driver were also among the dead, they said.
“Among the dead, who are in large numbers, are Hakimullah’s personal bodyguard Tariq Mehsud and his driver Abdullah Mehsud, two of his closest people,” said one intelligence source.
Drones fired four missiles at a compound in Danda Darpa Khel, a village about 5km from the regional capital of Miranshah, killing at least four people, sources said.
Mehsud was killed after attending a gathering of 25 Taliban leaders gathering to discuss the government’s offer of talks, they said.
Our correspondent quoting local TV channels said that his funeral would take place on Saturday in Miranshah.
Denouncing drone strike
The government issued its usual statement denouncing the drone strike, but did not comment on reports of Mehsud’s death.
As leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Mehsud was the most wanted man in Pakistan and the US had a $5m bounty on his head. He was believed to be in his mid-30s.
Mehsud, who had been reported dead several times before, became the leader of the Pakistani Taliban in August 2009 after a drone strike killed the previous leader, his mentor.
The Pakistani Taliban acts as an umbrella for various jihadist groups who are separate to but allied to the Afghan Taliban.
His death is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Pakistani Taliban.
In May, a drone strike killed Mehsud’s second-in-command, and one of his most trusted lieutenants was captured in Afghanistan last month.
The death also follows months of debate over potential peace talks between the Taliban and the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who won a landslide election victory in May, promising to quash the insurgency.
Source: Al Jazeera
