Taliban Confirms the Latest Drone Attack, But Deny Pakistani TV Station's Reports

 

January. 31, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - A senior Pakistani Taliban commander has dismissed recent reports that the leader of the group Hakimullah Mehsud had been killed.

 

Early this morning the Pakistani television channel claimed the Taliban leader was killed by a US drone attack and already buried within the last two weeks. However, a top Taliban commander called the station and denied the report of Mehsud’s death.

 

‘There is no concrete evidence to suggest that Hakimullah Mehsud is dead, but there is also some suspicion because there has been no video message to prove that he is alive." The AFP news agency reported. The caller said stories like this the death of a Taliban leader is to create rifts among Taliban ranks, but eventually they turn out to be unsuccessful. This is the second time that Pakistani state media claims Mehsud’s death, and the last time the group released audiotapes of his voice proved he was still alive.

 

US army regularly conducts drone attacks on Taliban positions in the Hindu- Kush Mountains that runs from Pakistan to Afghanistan. The majority of US drone attack victims have so far been ordinary villagers with many women and children amongst them. The government of Pakistan has publicly condemned US drone strikes on innocent villagers.