Pak Taliban chief Mehsud dies'

Islamabad, Oct 1 (PTI) Pakistani Taliban commander
Baitullah Mehsud, blamed for masterminding the assassination
of former premier Benazir Bhutto, has died after a protracted
illness, according to media reports.

Mehsud, believed to be 36 years old, had been
suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure for almost a
year and had reportedly lapsed into a coma a few days ago.
News about his death broke early this morning.

TV channels quoted official sources and local
residents in the troubled Waziristan tribal region as saying
that Mehsud had died at about 1 am. CNN quoted Pakistani
military officials as confirming that Mehsud had died.

Mehsud had lapsed into a coma some time back but had
made a recovery. After becoming very ill late last month,
Mehsud again went into a coma about two days ago when his
kidneys stopped functioning.

However, some newspapers and Dawn News channel
reported that Taliban spokesmen had denied the news of
Mehsud's death.

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had blamed
Mehsud for masterminding the December 27, 2007 assassination
of former premier Bhutto. Mehsud had denied involvement in the
assassination through a spokesman.

In a rare interview with Al Jazeera last year, Mehsud
had said his ultimate aim was to attack New York and London.
Like his idol Mullah Omar, Mehsud did not like being
photographed and usually kept his face covered while speaking
to the media.

In January, Spanish police said a group of Pakistanis
– allegedly dispatched by Mehsud – arrested in Barcelona was
planning suicide attacks in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Mehsud, a member of the Mehsud tribe who once worked
as a physical instructor in a school, commanded thousands of
Taliban fighters in South Waziristan tribal region bordering
Afghanistan.

He made a dramatic rise from being a little-known
entity in South Waziristan to head a full-fledged Taliban
movement. In December last year, the ethnic Pashtun guerrilla
commander forged a united front of smaller Taliban groups
in Pakistan's tribal areas that was named the Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban has close links to the Al Qaida.
Several Al Qaida laders have been killed in recent missile
strikes by US drones on Pakistani Taliban hideouts and bases
in the tribal areas.