Pakistan checks reported death of Taliban chief

The Pakistani army is investigating reports the Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a US drone missile strike in mid-January. The militant leader's death would be an important success for both Pakistan, which has been battling the Pakistani Taliban, and the US, which blames Mehsud for a recent deadly bombing against the CIA in Afghanistan. The army's announcement came shortly after Pakistani state television, citing unnamed "official sources", reported that Mehsud died in Orakzai, an area in Pakistan's northwest tribal region where he was reportedly being treated for his injuries.

"We have these reports coming to us," an army spokesman General Athar Abbas said. "We are investigating whether it is true or wrong." A tribal elder said he attended Mehsud's funeral in the Mamuzai area of Orakzai on Thursday. He said Mehsud was buried in Mamuzai graveyard after he died at his in-laws' home. The elder spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the Taliban. Pakistani intelligence officials have said that Mehsud was targeted in a US drone strike in South Waziristan on January 14, triggering rumours that he had been injured or killed.

The strike targeted a meeting of militant commanders in the Shaktoi area of South Waziristan. Mehsud issued two audio tapes after the strike denying the rumors. But Pakistani intelligence officials said today they have confirmation the Taliban chief's legs and abdomen were wounded in the strike. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media. Pakistani Taliban officials were not immediately available for comment, but low-level fighters have dismissed rumors of Mehsud's death in recent days as propaganda.

*AP