Islamabad, February 02: Pakistani and American officials have said that they were increasingly convinced that the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, Pakistan’s chief domestic enemy and the man behind the suicide attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan in December, had died from wounds sustained in a drone strike.
A US official said on Sunday that intelligence reports came close to a definitive conclusion about 90% certainty that Mehsud had died from wounds suffered in a drone strike on Jan 14. His death, if true, would probably set off a new power struggle.
But the setback could be short-lived, as the two men in line to take over from him — Wali ur-Rehman, the chief military strategist, and Qari Hussain, chief trainer of suicide bombers are tough operators.
Hakimullah Mehsud was specifically chosen by al-Qaida to succeed Baitullah Mehsud as he was considered most allied to it. His role in facilitating the attack on the American base in Afghanistan showed how much trust al-Qaida had vested in him, US officials said.
-Agencies