Word: waziristan
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...Pakistani Taliban, was killed in a CIA-operated drone strike last Wednesday, Aug. 5. Conclusive proof, said Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, could come only from a DNA test on what remains of Mehsud (the drone strike reportedly severed his body in half). However, the remote village in South Waziristan where the attack took place is dominated by the Taliban and other militants, difficult to access...
...told reporters in Islamabad on Friday Aug. 7 that, "According to my intelligence information, the news is correct. We are trying to get on-the-ground verification to be 100% sure. But according to my information, he has been taken out." Local Pakistani media, citing "tribal sources" in South Waziristan, are reporting that Mehsud's funeral prayers had been held and that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's shura, or council, was meeting today to choose Mehsud's successor. (See pictures of the battle against the Taliban...
...Zawahiri of al-Qaeda (who are still at large) and the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed while leading the radical insurgency in Iraq. Cagey, dogged and charismatic, Mehsud had a knack for uniting disparate factions around a common cause; he transformed the badlands of South Waziristan into the most important redoubt for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda. He denied involvement in the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but he was not unhappy about it: the Pakistani government produced an alleged message from him congratulating the perpetrators: "Fantastic job. Very brave boys, the ones...
...Indeed, under the cover afforded by the agreement, Mehsud was once touted by a Pakistani army official as a "good Taliban." He used that goodwill to tighten his grip on Waziristan quickly, converting the rugged region into a haven where militant groups could freely operate camps and training facilities. The assassination of Bhutto and subsequent attacks attributed to Mehsud turned him into a prime target of the Pakistani government. In June 2009, key roads were choked as Pakistani military aircraft began strafing targets from the air. CIA-operated drones also went to work, attacking sites associated with Mehsud. On Wednesday...
...Islamabad Taliban Manhunt Pakistan's security forces are stepping up their offensive against the nation's Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, and his estimated 20,000 fighters. The "full-fledged" escalation planned in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold, reflects the government's heightened resolve to confront Pakistan's growing insurgency. But analysts warn that assaults in the mountainous region will be difficult to carry out and may prompt bloody reprisals elsewhere...