Word: mehsud
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...Mehsud served as a Taliban fighter against the Soviets in the battle for Afghanistan, but first rose to prominence as a supporter of Abdullah Mehsud, a one-legged militant imprisoned soon after the 9/11 terror attacks at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Baitullah Mehsud quickly leapfrogged his boss, and his ascension up the jihadi ladder was made apparent in 2005, when - swathed in a black cloth to shield his face - he negotiated the public signing of a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government. He has also served as the protege of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar...
...Under the cover afforded by the agreement - he was once touted by a Pakistani Army official as a "good Taliban" - Mehsud quickly tightened his grip on Waziristan, converting the rugged region into a haven where militant groups could freely operate camps and training facilities. In 2007, he signaled the depth of his influence in the region when he took hostage more than 200 soldiers who had been on patrol...
...assault on a group of radical students at Islamabad's Red Mosque by the Pakistani army shattered any pretenses of a peace agreement, and Mehsud's vows of revenge for the incident only brought him greater fame. In December of that year, he was tapped by a Taliban council to consolidate the group's loosely affiliated factions in Pakistan. The same month, on Dec. 27, former Prime Minister Benazir was assassinated...
...With a reported 20,000 militants at his command, Mehsud is believed to have been the architect of the 2008 bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, the mastermind behind a terrorist cell uncovered in Barcelona that same year and the dispatcher of numerous suicide bombers in the region. Mehsud has reportedly executed more than 100 rival tribal leaders to consolidate power...
...Fantastic job. Very brave boys, the ones who killed her." -Communication intercepted and produced by the Pakistani government that allegedly fingered Mehsud as being behind Bhutto's assassination. (Newsweek...