Hakimullah Mehsud

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US Strike on Taliban Leader Kills Peace Efforts: Pakistan

Militants said to have picked new chief

(Newser) - Seeking peace, Pakistani officials were due to meet with Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud today—a day after the US reportedly killed him in a drone attack . Now, Pakistani officials are expressing outrage over the strike, and they've summoned the US ambassador to make their views known, the BBC...

US Drones Kill Taliban Chief: Officials

Hakimullah Mehsud goes down in strike a day after peace talks begin

(Newser) - A US drone has taken out Hakimullah Mehsud , the head of the Pakistani Taliban, along with four other suspected militants, US and Pakistani officials tell the AP . Mehsud has been near the top of the CIA's most wanted list thanks to his alleged role in a December 2009 suicide...

Taliban No. 2 Killed in Drone Strike: Pakistan

Officials condemn North Waziristan attack

(Newser) - A suspected US drone strike assassinated the Pakistani Taliban's No. 2 commander today, according to multiple reports sourced to Pakistani intelligence. Officials tell the AP that their informants on the ground saw Waliur Rehman 's body firsthand, while others say intercepted Taliban communications confirmed the kill. But a...

Pakistan Taliban: We'll Talk, but Won't Stop Fighting

Hakimullah Mehsud's comments come after string of attacks in Peshawar

(Newser) - Pakistan's Taliban is willing to continue negotiating with the government, but it is not about to stop its attacks, its leader said via a video given to Reuters today. This month has seen the group carry out a series of big attacks—including suicide bombings at the Peshawar airport,...

US Strike Didn't Kill Pakistan Taliban Chief

Reports of Hakimullah Mehsud's death greatly exaggerated

(Newser) - Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is now believed to have survived a US missile strike earlier this year, but has lost clout within the militant network, a senior intelligence official says. The revelation contradicts initial confidence among intelligence officials that the brash militant leader died in a mid-January missile attack...

Pakistani Taliban Leader Reported Dead

Army probes reports that drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud

(Newser) - The Pakistani army is investigating reports that the leader of the Taliban in the country has died after being injured in an American military drone strike. Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, had been at the helm of the Pakistani Taliban for 5 months, having taken over after the death—also in a...

Pakistani Taliban Commander: We're Surging, Too

Waliur Rehman says he's sent thousands into Afghanistan to fight US

(Newser) - A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming US troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt. Waliur Rehman told the AP in an exclusive...

Pakistan Army Takes Taliban Chief's Hometown

(Newser) - The army captured the hometown of Pakistan's Taliban chief today, snagging its first big prize in a major US-backed offensive along the Afghan border. Helicopter gunships provided aerial bombardment as soldiers captured heights around the town of Kotkai. The final fight saw 13 militants and two soldiers die; the military...

Taliban Chief Cracks Jokes, Vows Revenge
 Taliban Chief Cracks 
 Jokes, Vows Revenge 
Interview
Oct 6, 2009 6:48 AM CDT

Taliban Chief Cracks Jokes, Vows Revenge

Media sitdown dispells rumors Hakimullah Mehsud is dead

(Newser) - Hakimullah Mehsud met with reporters Sunday for the first time since winning control of Pakistan's Taliban, quashing speculation that he had been slain in a succession struggle following his predecessor's death in a US drone attack. Flanked by heavily armed fighters, the new leader sat on a blue blanket, in...

Taliban Finally Confirm Mehsud's Death

(Newser) - Weeks after a US drone reportedly took out the Taliban's leader in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud's fellow commanders have confirmed his death. Two Taliban officials—including his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud—tell the BBC that their leader actually died Sunday after being critically injured in the airstrike. The development also clears up...

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