Image copyright EPA Image caption Khalid Mehsud was deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban

The Pakistani Taliban say a senior militant, Khalid Mehsud, has been killed in a US drone attack.

Mehsud was deputy leader of the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the main faction of the hardline Islamist Pakistani Taliban.

He was killed in a drone strike on Thursday in North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan, the militant group added in a statement.

The TTP has been blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.

In December, gunmen from the militant group stormed a college in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least nine people and injuring 36.

Mehsud's death would further weaken the Pakistani Taliban, who have been forced to reduce their activities due to a relatively successful Pakistan military offensive, BBC Urdu's Haroon Rashid reports.

Pakistani officials claim many TTP militants have been forced to take refuge in Afghanistan as a result, our correspondent adds.

Analysis

By M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad

Mehsud, also known by his alias Khan Said Sajna, is the most important militant leader to have been killed since the August 2016 killing of Hafiz Saeed Khan, leader of so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mehsud has kept militant attacks going not only against military targets in South Waziristan but also at times deeper inside Pakistani territory.

He can be described as a true successor to the first two chiefs of TTP - Baitullah Mehsud, the group's founder, and Hakimullah Mehsud.

His influence can be seen from how he defied Mullah Fazlullah - who officially became the third TTP leader after Hakimullah's death in a drone strike in 2014.

Mehsud refused to accept Mullah Fazlullah as TTP chief, mainly because Fazlullah did not hail from the tribal region, and was living in Afghanistan due to the absence of his own base on Pakistani soil.

Fazlullah tried to retaliate and sideline Mehsud by naming his rivals as the head of the TTP in South Waziristan - but was forced to give in after Mehsud's supporters fought and defeated Fazlullah's nominees.</s>The defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has on Monday eventually confirmed that its deputy leader Khalid Mehsood alias Sajna was killed in the missiles strike by the American planes a few days back.

 The infamous US predator planes commonly known as drones, it may be recalled had carried out missile attack in a remote area at the converge of Pakistani tribal belt and Afghan province Paktika province on February 8.

 Around nine people were reportedly killed in the strike; there were conflicting reports about the identity of the victims of the drone hit as well as the territory that was hit. Some reports suggested the drone attack was carried out in Goraek area of North Waziristan agency whereas the officials insisted the attack was conducted in Afghanistan Paktika province closed to Pak-Afghan border.

 It was reported that Khalid Mehsood Sajna, who was put on the list of terrorists by the United States in 2014, was killed along with his two guards and a relative Ismaeel in the February 8 drone attack.

 Initially even the TTP had denied death of their leader yet on Monday the defunct organization has reportedly admitted the killing of their senior leader. “We confirm that deputy head of the TTP Khalid Mehsud died in a drone strike,” said the spokesman the spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani adding the drone strike that killed their leader Sajna was carried out on the border area between North Waziristan agency and Paktika province of war-ridden Afghanistan.

 The Spokesman also said the TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah, who a self-styled cleric is commonly known as Mullah Radio, appointed a commander called Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood to replace their dead deputy. Mullah Fazlullah is believed to be hiding inside Afghanistan these days.

 The newly appointed Deputy of TTP Mufti Wali, who replaced Khalid Mehsood Sajna, is said to be a ruthless leader with experience working in urban. He is known as nickname of the Gharr sterga (Eye of the mountain). He is said to have been the close comrade of former Taliban Chief Baitullah Mehsood also killed in a drone hit in the year 2009. However, his appointment as new deputy chief of Taliban is yet to be announced formally.</s>THE spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has confirmed the death of their deputy leader in a recent US drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region.

Azam Tariq Mehsud, the spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), says the group’s deputy chief, Khalid Mehsud, also known as Commander Sajna, was killed in last Thursday’s strike in the border village of Gorwak in North Waziristan, once a stronghold of militants.

Several of his aides were also killed in the attack.

He said another commander, Mufti Noor Wali, has now been appointed as the group’s deputy chief.

Tariq says Wali enjoys the backing of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Mehsud is the most significant militant leader to have been killed since the August 2016 killing of Hafiz Saeed Khan, the leader of IS in Afghanistan and Pakistan, reports the BBC .

Pakistani officials had earlier reported unconfirmed reports about Sajna’s killing in a US strike.

The TTP has been blamed for many suicide bombings and other attacks.

In December last year, members of the group attacked a college in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, shooting dead at least nine people and injuring 36.

Islamabad opposes the drone strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty.

Khalid Mehsud had been the deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban since November 2013, when then-leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed, also by a US drone strike.

The US government has not released any information on the killing.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since Jan. 1 when Trump’s denounced Pakistani “lies and deceit” over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.

Last month, the United States suspended about $2 billion assistance to Pakistan.</s>PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban confirmed on Monday that their deputy leader was killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week and said they had appointed a new deputy in his place.



A pair of suspected U.S. missile strikes killed the militant leader, Khalid Mehsud, also known by his alias Sajna, on Thursday last week in Afghanistanâs Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan, Pakistani security officials said.

But there were conflicting accounts of the drone attack from Pakistani intelligence officials and militant sources.

A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan told Reuters the drone strike was in the North Waziristan region, on the Pakistani side of the border.

âWe confirm that deputy head of the TTP Khalid Mehsud died in a drone strike,â said the spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani.

He said TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed a commander called Mufti Noor Wali Wali to replace their dead deputy.

Militant sources said Wali, known by the nickname Ghar Starga, is a ruthless leader with experience working in urban.

He studied in a seminary in Faisalabad city in the heartland province of Punjab and recently wrote a book eulogizing the founder of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a 2009 drone attack.

U.S. drone strikes in the border region have picked up since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, though they are a long way off their peak in 2010.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since Jan. 1 when Trumpâs denounced Pakistani âlies and deceitâ over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.

Last month, the United States suspended about $2 billion assistance to Pakistan.</s>At least 11 soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded after two suicide bombers set off explosives and other attackers engaged soldiers in a gun battle at Afganistan’s main military academy in Kabul on January 29, Radio Free Europe reported. Afghan security forces fought off the attackers during a five-hour battle, during which explosions and gunfire were heard, TOLO News reported. Radio Free Europe said the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. This footage is described as showing Afghan forces blocking roads outside military compound. The attack came just two days after more than 100 people were killed in a Taliban-claimed bombing in the Kabul. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful

Several Soldiers Killed During Taliban Attack on Kabul Military Academy. Credit - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful 1:32

THE spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has confirmed the death of their deputy leader in a recent US drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region.

Azam Tariq Mehsud, the spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), says the group’s deputy chief, Khalid Mehsud, also known as Commander Sajna, was killed in last Thursday’s strike in the border village of Gorwak in North Waziristan, once a stronghold of militants.

Several of his aides were also killed in the attack.

He said another commander, Mufti Noor Wali, has now been appointed as the group’s deputy chief.

Tariq says Wali enjoys the backing of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Mehsud is the most significant militant leader to have been killed since the August 2016 killing of Hafiz Saeed Khan, the leader of IS in Afghanistan and Pakistan, reports the BBC.

Pakistani officials had earlier reported unconfirmed reports about Sajna’s killing in a US strike.

The TTP has been blamed for many suicide bombings and other attacks.

In December last year, members of the group attacked a college in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, shooting dead at least nine people and injuring 36.

Islamabad opposes the drone strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty.

Khalid Mehsud had been the deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban since November 2013, when then-leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed, also by a US drone strike.

The US government has not released any information on the killing.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since Jan. 1 when Trump’s denounced Pakistani “lies and deceit” over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.

Last month, the United States suspended about $2 billion assistance to Pakistan.</s>The Pakistani Taliban's deputy leader was killed in a recent US drone strike in the north-western tribal region, a spokesman has confirmed.

The group's deputy chief, Khalid Mehsud, also known as Commander Sajna, died in last Thursday's strike in the border village of Gorwak in North Waziristan, once a stronghold of the militants.

Azam Tariq Mehsud, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, said another commander, Mufti Noor Wali, has now been appointed as the group's deputy chief.

Mr Tariq said Wali enjoys the backing of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials had earlier reported unconfirmed reports about Sajna's killing in a US strike.

Islamabad opposes the drone strikes, arguing that they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.</s>The Pakistani Taliban has confirmed its deputy leader was killed in a suspected US drone strike last week and said a new deputy has been appointed in his place.

Pakistani security officials said a pair of suspected US missile strikes killed the militant leader, Khalid Mehsud, also known by his alias Sajna, on Thursday last week in Afghanistan's Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan.

But there were conflicting accounts of the drone attack from Pakistani intelligence officials and militant sources.

A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to bring down the Pakistani state, said the drone strike was in the North Waziristan region, on the Pakistani side of the border.

"We confirm that deputy head of the TTP Khalid Mehsud died in a drone strike," spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said.

He said Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed a commander called Mufti Noor Wali Wali to replace the dead deputy.

Wali, like his predecessor, would lead militants in South Waziristan, a rugged mountainous region on the Afghan border which has long been home to Pakistani, Afghan and Al Qaeda-linked foreign militants.

Militant sources said Wali, known by the nickname Ghar Starga, is a ruthless leader with experience working in Pakistani urban areas including the southern city of Karachi.

He studied in a seminary in Faisalabad city in the heartland province of Punjab and recently wrote a book eulogising the founder of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a 2009 drone attack.

The border region is off limits to journalists and verifying information independently is difficult.

US drone strikes in the border region have picked up since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, though they are a long way off their peak in 2010.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since January 1, when Mr Trump accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit" over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.</s>Pakistan's main Taliban group, Tehreek-e-Taliban, announced Monday that the deputy chief of the group had been killed in a United States drone strike in northwestern tribal areas.

According to TTP spokesperson Muhammed Khurasani, Khan Sayed was killed early Feb. 8 in a US drone attack in the town of Gorvek in North Waziristan.

"The central leadership of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan confirms the martyrdom of deputy emir (chief) of the tehreek Khan Sayed AKA Khalid Mehsud," Khurasani said in a statement sent to EFE.

The TTP said Sayed had also been the chief of the Mehsud Halqa faction and that, following his death, the top leadership had appointed Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud as emir of the group.

However, the Taliban have not yet announced a new deputy chief.

Several top leaders of the TTP and the Afghan Taliban have been killed in US drone strikes on Pakistani territory.

In October, the TTP confirmed the death of the mastermind of the 2014 attack on a Pakistani school, in which 125 students were killed, some 15 months after Pakistan announced that the terrorist had died in a US bombing.

In May 2016, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Mansour, was also killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan, meeting the same fate as the head of TTP, Hakimullah Mehsud, did in 2013.

Since 2004, the US has carried out around 410 drone attacks in Pakistan that have claimed between 2,361 and 3,688 lives, according to the American think tank New America, although strikes have reduced in recent years.</s>The death of Pakistani Taliban deputy leader Khalid Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike last week was confirmed Monday by a Taliban spokesman.

Pakistani security officials announced the death of Mehsud, also known as Sajna, soon after the Feb. 8 airstrike in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province, on its border with Pakistan.

Mehsud was a commander in the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, the Taliban’s main faction. He is believed to be the mastermind of a 2011 attack on a naval base in Karachi, as well as a 2012 jailbreak in Bannu.

The spokesman said Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah immediately replaced Mehsud with another commander, Mufti Noor Wali.

The TTP has recently curtailed activities because of a successful Pakistani military offensive, and Mehsud’s death is expected to further weaken the Islamist group.

Many TTP militants have sought refuge in Afghanistan.

Mehsud is the most influential TTP leader killed since 2016, when Afghan and Pakistani Islamic State leader Hafiz Saeed Khan was killed.</s>The Pakistani Taliban says its deputy leader died in a recent U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of North Waziristan.

Azam Tariq Mehsud, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, said on February 12 that the group's deputy chief, Khalid Mehsud, was killed in a strike in the village of Gorwak.

Pakistani security officials earlier reported about the killing of Mehsud, also known as Sajna, in a February 8 U.S. strike in Afghanistan's Paktika Province, near the border with Pakistan.

Mehsud said that Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed another commander, Mufti Noor Wali, as the extremist group's new deputy chief.

Sajna is believed to be involved in the attack on a Pakistani naval base in the southern city of Karachi in 2011 and is also credited with staging a jailbreak in the northwestern city of Bannu in 2012.

Pakistani Taliban militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and other attacks on Pakistani security forces.

Pakistan opposes U.S. drone strikes on its territory, saying they violate its sovereignty.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) confirms its deputy leader Khalid Mehsud has been killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan.