PESHAWAR – The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, the militant movement that poses the gravest security threat to the country, is believed to have been killed by a US drone strike.
Pakistani intelligence officials said yesterday they had intercepted wireless radio chatter between Taliban fighters detailing how Hakimullah Mehsud was killed while travelling in a convoy to a meeting in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border.
A senior military official said there was no official confirmation that the Pakistan’s deadliest enemy had been killed. The Pakistani Taliban issued a denial.
Security forces have struggled to weaken the group, which is close to al- Qaeda and has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings in the country.
Pakistan is seen as critical to US efforts to fight global militancy. – (Reuters)
