Hakimullah Mehsud, who was believed to be in his mid-30s and
was one of Pakistan's most wanted men, has been reported dead several times
before.
But late on Friday, several intelligence, army and militant
sources across Pakistan confirmed he had been killed in the drone strike in the
lawless North Waziristan region.
"We can confirm Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in the
drone strike," said one senior security official.
Mehsud's Pakistani Taliban is an umbrella of militant groups
separate to but allied to the Afghan Taliban.
Mehsud took over the Pakistani Taliban in August 2009 after
a drone strike killed the previous leader, his mentor.
Four security officials confirmed his death to Reuters. His
bodyguard and driver were also among the dead, they said.
"Among the dead, who are in large numbers, are
Hakimullah's personal bodyguard Tariq Mehsud and his driver Abdullah Mehsud,
two of his closest people," said one intelligence source, adding at least
25 people were killed in the strike.
There was no official comment from the government or from
the Taliban.
Earlier, regional sources said drones had fired four
missiles at a compound in Danda Darpa Khel, a village about 5 km (3 miles) from
the regional capital of Miran Shah, killing at least four people.
North Waziristan is the stronghold of the Taliban insurgency
and shares a border with Afghanistan.
The U.S. offered $5 million for Mehsud's capture after he
appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven
CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan in 2009.
U.S. prosecutors have charged him with involvement in the
attack.
The killing is the latest in a series of setbacks for the
Pakistani Taliban. A drone strike killed Mehsud's number two in May and one of
his most trusted lieutenants was captured in Afghanistan last month.
The death follows months of debate over potential peace
talks between the Taliban and the new government of Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif, who swept to a landslide victory in May elections.
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