Pakistan Surgeon General Killed

Army probes reports that drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud

(NEWSER) - The Pakistani army is investigating reports that the leader of the Taliban in the country has died after being injured in an American military drone strike. Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, had been at the helm of the Pakistani Taliban for 5 months, having taken over after the death—also in a drone strike—of Baitullah Mehsud, reports the Los Angeles Times . But a source within the Taliban says Hakimullah Mehsud is alive and has gone "underground" to dodge a recent campaign of drone attacks, CNN reports. More»

(AP) - A US missile strike today in Pakistan's lawless tribal region killed a wife of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander, the AP reports. Mehsud has been accused of orchestrating dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The US, as usual, did not comment on the strike, but three Pakistani officials confirmed that the blast destroyed the home of Mehsud's father-in-law and killed two people. More»

Baitullah Mehsud blamed for several recent attacks

(NEWSER) - Pakistan is launching a manhunt for Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud—branded "the root cause of all evils," by one official—in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan officials blame Mehsud's group for a string of recent attacks, the BBC reports. The heavy military offensive is expected to please the US, though previous plans have often faltered or ended in truces that ended up strengthening the militants. More»

(NEWSER) - One of Pakistan’s most prominent anti-Taliban clerics was killed today in a suicide bomb attack, the Times of London reports. Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, who supported the Pakistan army’s campaign in the Swat Valley, died on the way to the hospital after an explosion at his Islamic college in Lahore. “There was blood and several people were crying in pain,” Naeemi’s son said. More»

Tells residents to flee after blasts in two more cities kill 11

(NEWSER) - The Taliban claimed responsibility for bombings in two more Pakistani cities today that killed at least 11 and promised that more attacks were on the way, the New York Times reports. The group also took credit for yesterday's bombing in Lahore that killed 26, calling the new wave of assaults retaliation for the government crackdown in the Swat valley. More»