Baitullah Mehsud

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Ex-Police Chief Indicted in Bhutto Assassination

Another cop, plus five Taliban militants also indicted

(Newser) - It looks more and more like Benazir Bhutto never had a chance that day. A Pakistani court today indicted two police officers in connection with her 2007 assassination in Rawalpindi, including the former police chief of the city. The pair, in charge of the former prime minister's security, had...

US Evolves Strategy, Widens Assault on Terrorists

Iraq withdrawal and Pakistani cooperation enable more drone strikes

(Newser) - Long before he went on the defensive for his handling of the failed Christmas Day airline bombing, Obama had widened the list of US targets abroad and stepped up the pace of airstrikes. The death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in August marked his first major victory in a...

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...

In Video, CIA Bomber Talks Revenge, Secrets

Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi says attack was payback

(Newser) - The suicide bomber who killed seven senior CIA officials last week said in a video released today that the attack was an act of revenge for the August killing of the leader of the Pakistani Taliban. Jordanian doctor Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi appears next to the new leader 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...

Taliban Pick Young Leader to Replace Mehsud

But still insist old leader isn't dead

(Newser) - Despite their insistence that a US drone strike didn’t kill their leader, members of Pakistan’s Taliban movement have already replaced him, the BBC reports. Hakimullah Mehsud, a military chief in his late 20s, will succeed Baitullah Mehsud, a close ally reportedly killed earlier this month. The unanimous decision...

Top Militant Denies Taliban Shootout

Pakistan insists dead leader's aide killed in power struggle

(Newser) - Days after Pakistan's Taliban leader reportedly died in a US airstrike, conflicting stories are emerging about a power struggle in the militant group, the New York Times reports. Waliur Rehman, a commander who had wanted to lead the Taliban, denies killing a young aide to the former leader in a...

Mehsud Is Alive, Says Fellow Commander

(Newser) - US and Pakistani officials say they're all but certain they killed Baitullah Mehsud, yet one of his fellow Taliban commanders says that's just a bunch of "ridiculous" propaganda. Mehsud, he insists to the BBC, is alive and will stay underground for a few days before issuing a public statement....

Officials: Taliban's Mehsud Is Dead

(Newser) - Pakistani officials have confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban leader, in an American drone strike early Wednesday. While there is still no concrete evidence of his death, the country's foreign minister said today that "he has been taken out." One security official told the New ...

US Drone May Have Killed Taliban Leader Mehsud

(Newser) - Potentially big news out of Pakistan: A US drone may have killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, reports Reuters. "There is reason to believe that reports of his death may be true, but it can't be confirmed at this time," said an anonymous US official. Mehsud is an...

US Strike Kills Wife of Pakistan Taliban Chief

(Newser) - A US missile strike today in Pakistan's lawless tribal region killed a wife of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander, the AP reports. Mehsud has been accused of orchestrating dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The US, as usual, did...

Taliban Buys Kids for Suicide Bombings

(Newser) - The Taliban is buying children as young as 7 and turning them into suicide bombers, the Washington Times reports. The going rate is $7,000 to $14,000, a huge amount in Pakistan, where where the average income is $2,600. Pakistani and US officials lay blame for the practice...

US Drone Kills 60 in Pakistan; May Be Deadliest Ever

(Newser) - The American hunt for Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud—implicated, among other things, in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto—took two major twists today in Pakistan. Early reports suggest that a US military drone killed about 60 suspected militants after the funeral of an insurgent commander in South Waziristan near the...

Pakistan Launches Operation to Kill Taliban Leader

Baitullah Mehsud blamed for several recent attacks

(Newser) - Pakistan is launching a manhunt for Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud—branded "the root cause of all evils," by one official—in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan officials blame Mehsud's group for a string of recent attacks, the BBC reports. The heavy military offensive is expected to please...

Taliban Chief Claims Lahore Attack, Vows to Hit US

Mehsud vows he will attack again in Pakistan and US

(Newser) - The head of the Pakistani Taliban and the man accused of masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has claimed responsibility for yesterday's commando assault on the Lahore police academy and has threatened more attacks, the Times of London reports. Baitullah Mehsud personally called Western news agencies to take credit for...

US May Strike Deeper Into Pakistan

Drones may target Taliban sanctuaries beyond tribal areas

(Newser) - The Obama administration is considering expanding its covert war in Pakistan beyond tribal areas to strike Taliban havens in regions under the central government's control, reports the New York Times. US commanders believe the Taliban, under the leadership of Mullah Omar, is operating out of sanctuaries in Baluchistan—which borders...

Suspected US Strike Kills 30 in Pakistan

(Newser) - An airstrike in Pakistan’s troubled South Waziristan region, likely orchestrated by the US, has killed about 30 people, the Los Angeles Times reports. The dead are thought to be al-Qaeda or Taliban militants; the attack destroyed the compound of an associate of the Taliban leader suspected in the assassination...

Taliban Leader Suspected in Bhutto Killing Dead

Baitullah Mehsud fell victim to kidney failure, Pakistani official say

(Newser) - The Taliban leader suspected in the December assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto died today, officials tell CNN. Baitullah Mehsud, believed to be 34, succumbed to kidney failure, sources in his native tribal region of South Waziristan said; though Pakistani military officials also claimed Mehsud had died, some...

Pakistan Bomb Near Miss for President, PM

Zardari was scheduled to be at reception when Marriott exploded

(Newser) - Pakistan's president and prime minister were supposed to be at a reception at the Islamabad hotel where a huge bomb killed at least 60 people and injured 270, reports the Times of London. Asif Ali Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gilani were expected to attend a large dinner at the Marriott,...

Bhutto Investigation Going Nowhere

Though her party now rules Pakistan, Dec. assassination 'a forgotten chapter'

(Newser) - There doesn’t seem to be much urgency behind the hunt for Benazir Bhutto’s killers, the Los Angeles Times reports, though her party has come to power in Pakistan since the Dec. 27 assassination. The government still hasn’t commissioned an independent investigation, and police have all but abandoned...

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