Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud killed in U.S. drone strike: intelligence officials

[News_Editor]

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is better known as the Pakistani Taliban, was killed Friday when a U.S. drone carried out a missile strike in Pakistan's volatile tribal region, local intelligence officials said.

The unmanned U.S. drone fired at least four missiles at a residential building and a nearby vehicle in the village of Dandey Darpakhel, which is located about 7 kilometers (4 miles) north of Miranshah, the main town in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area. The region is near the border with Afghanistan and is frequently the target of U.S. drone strikes.

Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said six bodies were recovered at the scene of Friday's drone strike. The militant compound was allegedly used by Mehsud, who has served as the militant group's leader since August 2009, making him one of the most wanted terrorists in the world. Both officials said Mehsud was among those killed.

The Pakistani Taliban made no official announcement following Mehsud's death, but a senior source in the group acknowledged that its leader was among those killed and was to be buried on Saturday. The source said at least three other militants had also been killed in the strike, including Mehsud's bodyguard and driver.

Pakistan's foreign ministry strongly condemned the drone strike, which came less than 24 hours after another drone strike in North Waziristan. "These strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is an across the board consensus in Pakistan that these drone strikes must end," the ministry said in a statement, shortly before reports emerged that Mehsud had been killed.

The statement added that such strikes set "dangerous precedents" in interstate relations and have a negative impact on the relationship between Pakistan and the United States. "Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications," it said.

Mehsud was a spokesman for the militant group under the command of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in August 2009. Initially known as Zulfiqar Mehsud, he became known by his birth name Hakimullah Mehsud when he was appointed the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban by a 42-member advisory council.

The leader, believed to be in his 30s, was charged in U.S. federal court in August 2010 for his alleged involvement in an attack against Camp Chapman near the Afghan town of Khost in December 2009. The attack involved a suicide bomber posing as an intelligence asset who walked through the front gates of the base before detonating his explosives, killing 7 CIA employees in the deadliest attack on U.S. intelligence officials since 1983.

In September 2010, the U.S. State Department designated the Pakistani Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and its top two leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. In addition, the U.S. offered a $5 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Mehsud.

Earlier this year, the militant group's second-in-command, Wali-ur-Rehman, was killed when a U.S. drone fired missiles against a compound and a vehicle in Dandey Darpakhel. It was not immediately clear who will succeed Mehsud, as Rehman would have been his successor if he had been alive.

U.S. drone strikes have become relatively common during President Barack Obama's tenure in which the unmanned aircraft have targeted suspected militants, their hideouts, and training facilities. However, the number of civilians killed along with militants during such attacks has remained uncertain.

The total number of deaths caused by drone strikes in 2012 stood well over 300, according to the Washington-based think tank New America Foundation, and as many as 3,239 individuals have been killed as a result of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan alone between 2004 and January 2013.

In January 2012, President Obama, for the first time during his presidency, publicly acknowledged that U.S. drones regularly strike suspected militants along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He confirmed that many of these strikes are carried out in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects in tough terrain.

Pakistan's government has been public in its stance against the drone strikes, as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing innocent civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. Details about the alleged militants are almost never provided, and the U.S. government does not comment publicly on the strikes.

However, the U.S. has used drones as an important tool in their fight against terrorism. In June 2012, al-Qaeda deputy leader Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed when a U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound and a nearby pickup truck in the village of Hesokhel, located in the Mir Ali district just east of Miranshah. It was the most serious blow to al-Qaeda since U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden during a secret military operation in the Pakistani city of Abbotabad in May 2011.

(Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)

[Chicog]

[NeverSure]

Pakistan's foreign ministry speak with forked tongue. They love it when those b'd's are taken out, but they have enough of a threat themselves from them that they decry it. "Oh, stop, stop, stop it some more..."

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Pakistanis who dropped a dime on them.

[Naam]

applauding when besides a perhaps "guilty" person innocent people are murdered tell a story.

[NeverSure]

applauding when besides a perhaps "guilty" person innocent people are murdered tell a story.

Do you suppose the other 5 didn't know they were hanging out with a notorious terrorist? How do you define "innocent?"

There is verified intelligence on the ground now before those missiles are fired. Do you suppose they didn't know who was in that building?

Do not F with the US. You will be hunted to the ends of the earth no matter how long it takes and you will be killed. Ask, Bin Laden, and who gives a shit who was living with him and got themselves killed?

Just be careful who you hang out with - advice from my mother when I was very young still holds true.

[Chicog]

 

applauding when besides a perhaps "guilty" person innocent people are murdered tell a story.

 

If you want sympathy, it's between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Will27]

applauding when besides a perhaps "guilty" person innocent people are murdered tell a story.

The source said at least three other militants had also been killed in the strike, including Mehsud's bodyguard and driver.

Call me crazy, but I fail to see where "innocents" were killed, on this occassion.

[IMA_FARANG]

The militants routinely use their own families as "innocent civilians" to be killed by drone strikes for the news value.

Then the media can talk about all the innocent people that were killed .... never mentioning that the leaders that were also killed were responsible for many deaths themselves.

I'm not defending the U.S. actions, I'm just stating the truth.

What as a U.S. general should you do .... if you have intelligence that some leader is planning to execute a bombing in a crowded market place in order to kill a U.S. government official as an example?

Does the fact that his wife and daughter are also living in that house stop you from that strike?

No it doesn't ..... war is a killing game .... and it is war now.

In World War II, did the fact that a high ranking German Nazi happened to be living next door to a orphanage stop the British Air Force from bombing that target?

No it didn't .... and today is just the same.

War is a killing business .... no good for anyone. It never has been and still isn't.

No matter what reason the killing is supposedly done for.

[dundee48]

[simple1]

Pakistan's foreign ministry speak with forked tongue. They love it when those b'd's are taken out, but they have enough of a threat themselves from them that they decry it. "Oh, stop, stop, stop it some more..."

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Pakistanis who dropped a dime on them.

Highly likely someone "dropped a dime" when a $5m reward is on the table.

It’s a very grey environment. Many times it is reported that elements within Pakistani security agencies actually support the Pakistani/Afghan Taliban & other extremist groups. These activities include providing shelter, training, funding (provided by supporters in KSA & Gulf States) and supply of weapons. Even to the level of coordination & operational support for identifying targets.In addition to their wages, reward money is provided for those who have killed ISAF members. It is claimed one of the motivations for these Pakistani activities is thanking the extremists for attacks in India's Kashmir and other Indian targets.

[Tchooptip]

RNIP

[mccw]

I'm not a big fan of America but its good news when these Islamic extremists get taken out.

[OZEMADE]

I'm not a big fan of America but its good news when these Islamic extremists get taken out.

I'm happy as a pig in poo and I bet the guy who picked up the 5 mill is even happier.

[RickBradford]

I'm not a big fan of America but its good news when these Islamic extremists get taken out.

I'm happy as a pig in poo and I bet the guy who picked up the 5 mill is even happier.

Unless he was also sitting in the house at the time.....

[boomerangutang]

Follow up news, says Paki officials are pissed off because the strike happened a day before officials were to meet to 'negotiate' with militants.

I say; 'tough tamales.' When Pakis have discussions with militants, it's in a comfy room with Persian carpets, everyone grinning, tea served by shapely women, etc. They're all bosom buddies, so it's like two mafia families talking about how to allot parking spaces in the street. Uncle Sam's military doesn't have multiple threads of alliances to wade through. They find the bad guy, they launch some missiles by a heartless drones, pow, job done, ....on to the next target.

[simple1]

Follow up news, says Paki officials are pissed off because the strike happened a day before officials were to meet to 'negotiate' with militants.

I say; 'tough tamales.' When Pakis have discussions with militants, it's in a comfy room with Persian carpets, everyone grinning, tea served by shapely women, etc. They're all bosom buddies, so it's like two mafia families talking about how to allot parking spaces in the street. Uncle Sam's military doesn't have multiple threads of alliances to wade through. They find the bad guy, they launch some missiles by a heartless drones, pow, job done, ....on to the next target.

The specific individual & some of his cohorts were taken out as he was a planner & executing IED & other attacks. However, overall it's not as black & white as you suggest. The US has been encouraging peace talks with the Taliban leadership, at the same time killings some of those who have agreed to engage in the process; this obviously muddies the waters for any negotiations and has annoyed both the Afghan & Pakistani governments.

Who knows what goes on behind closed doors, but at least in the public domain the Pakistani government has repeatedly requested the US to stop the drone attacks on their sovereign territory as it complicates domestic affairs for them.

[Ulysses G.]

The US has been encouraging peace talks with the Taliban leadership, at the same time killings some of those who have agreed to engage in the process

It looks like they better stop stalling and sign on the dotted line.