Taliban Finally Confirm Mehsud's Death

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2009 11:42 AM CDT
Taliban Finally Confirm Mehsud's Death
Hakimullah Mehsud, the new leader.   (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mehsud, File)

Weeks after a US drone reportedly took out the Taliban's leader in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud's fellow commanders have confirmed his death. Two Taliban officials—including his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud—tell the BBC that their leader actually died Sunday after being critically injured in the airstrike. The development also clears up rumors about Hakimullah Mehsud, thought to be in his late 20s: some reports had him killed in an internal power struggle.
(More Taliban stories.)

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