Murderer of hundreds innocent Muslims 'Hakimullah Mehsud' killed in Pakistan

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Hakimullah Mehsud, terrorist chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was killed in a US drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, intelligence officials and the Pakistani Taliban said.

Intelligence officials said the Pakistani Taliban supremo was leaving a meeting at a mosque in Dande Darpakhel area of North Waziristan when the drone targeted the vehicle he was travelling in.

Pakistani Taliban militants said funerals for the TTP chief and other militants killed in the drone strike were held on Saturday in various parts of North Waziristan.

Five militants, including Abdullah Bahar Mehsud and Tariq Mehsud, both key commanders and close aides of the TTP chief, were also killed with two others injured in the drone strike, multiple sources confirmed.

Some of the sources said that a paternal uncle of the proscribed organisation's chief was among those killed in the drone strike.

Taliban sources said that Hakimullah was shifted to a hospital in the wake of the drone attack but succumbed to his injuries on the way. Locals said the drones had been carrying out low flights in various parts of North Waziristan since Friday morning.

The South Waziristan Taliban chief, Khan Said Sajna alias Khalid, is likely to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as TTP chief.

Chief of Mohmand Taliban Umar Khalid Khurasani is also a strong contender for the slot as he is the only surviving senior Taliban commander who had directly commanded operations under Hakimullah.

Mullah Fazlullah, chief of the Swat Taliban, is another senior commander but unlikely to replace the assassinated TTP chief for not belonging to the Mehsud clan.

The CIA and the White House declined to comment on the reported death. The US National Counterterrorism Center describes Mehsud as “the self-proclaimed amir of the Pakistani Taliban.”

Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the US State Department said: “We have seen those reports but we don’t have anything for you on that. The reports just came out. We have a close cooperative relationship with Pakistan on various issues, including counter-terrorism but I do not have anything specific for you on Pakistan on this report.”

Reacting to the incident, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan – a strong opponent of US drone strikes – demanded the government to immediately block the Nato supplies going through the country. His party is set to table resolutions in KP Assembly and National Assembly on Monday in this regard.

Mehsud has been reported dead several times before. But late on Friday, several intelligence, army and militant sources across the country confirmed he had been killed in the strike in the lawless North Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, strongly condemning the Friday’s US drone attack in North Waziristan, Pakistan government reiterated that these strikes are a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in a statement said that there was an across the board consensus in Pakistan that these drone strikes must end.

He said the government has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations, he added.

The spokesman said these strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both US and Pakistan to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region.

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