Bahawal Khan to succeed Pakistan militant leader Mullah Nazir A successor to Pakistani militant leader Mullah Nazir, who was killed in a US drone strike, has been named. Bahawal Khan, who also goes by the name Salahuddin Ayubi, has taken command of Nazir's group, officials say. Mullah Nazir died when two missiles struck his vehicle in the tribal area of South Waziristan on Wednesday. He headed one of four major insurgent factions in Pakistan's north-west and was a key figure in supplying fighters and support to the Afghan Taliban. "Ayubi, whose real name is Bahawal Khan, was appointed as top commander of the group after Nazir's funeral," a Pakistani intelligence official told the AFP news agency. He said Ayubi has been a long-time close associate of Nazir and is well-respected by those within the militant group. Significant blow Mullah Nazir is one of the most high-profile insurgents killed by US drones. Militants killed by drones in Pakistan January 2013: Senior Pakistani militant leader Mullah Nazir June 2012: Senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi February 2012: Al-Qaeda commander Badar Mansoor August 2011: Al-Qaeda commander Atiyah Abd al-Rahman June 2011: Senior al-Qaeda figure Ilyas Kashmiri August 2009: Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud The faction he led is based along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. In recent years there have been divisions among Taliban militant groups based in Pakistan's tribal areas. Analysts say Mullah Nazir formed an alliance with the government and opposed the Pakistani Taliban, with whom he was at odds because he favoured attacking US forces in Afghanistan rather than Pakistani soldiers. Reports say he was also seen as an enemy of militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and praised by Pakistan for expelling Uzbek and other foreign fighters from Pakistan in 2007. He had survived several attempts to kill him, including a suicide bomb attack blamed on rival militants in November. The Pentagon did not confirm Nazir's death on Thursday, but said it would be a "significant blow" to extremist groups in the region. His death could be a contentious issue between Washington and Islamabad, observers say, because the Pakistani military views commanders like him as key to keeping the peace internally. Drone strikes have increased in frequency since US President Barack Obama took office in 2009. Hundreds of people have been killed, stoking public anger in Pakistan. The dead include senior al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, as well as an unknown number of other militants and civilians. The US does not normally comment on individual drone operations, but last year it emerged in the New York Times that the US president had personally approved or vetoed each drone strike. Islamabad has called for an end to the attacks, saying they violate the country's sovereignty, but analysts say Pakistan has privately sanctioned such actions in the past.