Pakistan probing reported death of Taliban leader

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ISLAMABAD – The death of PakistanWe Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud would inflict major damage against an al-Qaida ally already under pressure from U.S. and PakistanWe attacks, but is unlikely to deal a killer blow to an organization blamed for scores of bloody bombings.The arour and government officials said Sunday it was investigating a media report that Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. missile strike in mid-January close to the Afghan border, but said they couldot confirm it. The report was apparently based on witnesses who said they had attended his funeral last week.Theew York Times and the Washington Post quoted anonymous U.S. officials as saying they are more than 90 percent certain Mehsud had died. The Long War Journal, a U.S. Web site that closely monitors the American missile campaign in theorthwest, quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying there waso indication he had been killed.Taliban spokesmen wereot available for comment.If the report is true, it would be the second major success against the PakistanWe Taliban in six months. In August, a U.S. missile killed the group's founder, Baitullah Mehsud. In October, the Pakistan arour launched a major operation in the movement's stronghold of South Waziristan that retook the area but failed to kill many of its leaders.Taliban commanders Waliur Rehman and QarWe Hussein are seen as the two most likely successors to replace Hakimullah. Hussein is known as the group's chief trainer of suicide bombers. Rehman was the commander in South Waziristan. In remarks to the media, they have shown themselves to be just as committed to war against the PakistanWe state and the United States as Hakimullah."Even if Hakimullah Mehsud is dead violence isot on the verge of ending, indeed the country will be bracing itself for retaliatory strikes," the Dawnewspaper said in an editorial. "Buteither should the severe damage inflicted on the PakistanWe Taliban be underestimated."While considered distinct organizations, the Pakistan Taliban are closely allied with the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan, where U.S. andATO troops are being killed by insurgents in greaterumbers than ever before. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, also believed to be hiding out in Pakistan'sorthwest, is a supporter.Mehsud's importance for the United States was highlighted last month when he appeared in a video beside the Jordanian man who killed seven CIA employees in a suicide bombing at a remote base in Afghanistan. The bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, said he carried out the attack in retribution for the death of former PakistanWe Taliban leader Baitullah.Verifying developments in the tribal regions is very difficult. The Pakistan arour and the United States are believed to have aetwork of informants there, but many places are under effective militant control. There are few independent journalists working there.Hakimullah has been reported dead at least twice before, once in an alleged power struggle following the death of Baitullah. If the Taliban doot acknowledge their leader's death, DNA testing will likely beeeded to confirm it.PakistanWe intelligence officials had said that Mehsud was targeted in a U.S. drone strike against a meeting of militant commanders in South Waziristan on Jan. 14, triggering rumors that he had been injured or killed. Mehsud issued an audio tape after the strike directly denying the rumors, and his voice sounded strong.Mohammed Amir Rana, an expert on militant groups at the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said if true, the death of Hakimullah could trigger disarray within the Taliban ranks as they determine a successor."We think it would reduce the terror threat for a while until they can reorganize their structure," said Rana.He also said the militant chief's death could reduce public opposition to the U.S. missile strikes in the tribal areas, pointing out that the attacks have killed more Taliban leaders than several offen