The head of the Pakistan Taliban, one of the country’s most fearsome terrorist leaders, has been killed by a US drone strike, according to militant sources and security officials.
Hakimullah Mehsud, who carried a $5 million (£3.1 million) bounty on his head, was killed with other senior commanders when at least two missiles hit his vehicle in North Waziristan, an area in Pakistan’s north-west known as a haven for al-Qaeda and militant groups.
It is the fourth time he has been declared dead but this time his demise was confirmed by other figures in the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), marking a major success for the CIA and their drone programme.
“We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack,” a senior Taliban commander told the Reuters news agency.
The strike came only a day after Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister, said his government was trying to finalise details of peace talks with the Pakistan Taliban.