Intercepted militant radio communications indicate the leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in a recent US drone strike, intelligence officials said Sunday. A Taliban official denied that. The claim that the Pakistani Taliban chief was killed came from officials who said they intercepted a number of Taliban radio conversations.
In about a half a dozen intercepts, the militants discussed whether their chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed on January 12 in the North Waziristan tribal area. Some militants confirmed Mehsud was dead, and one criticised others for talking about the issue over the radio.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Asimullah Mehsud denied the group's leader was killed and said he was not in the area where the drone strike occurred.
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