There are reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has been killed. He is one of the most wanted militants in the country, but officials warn that there may never be conclusive evidence of his death.
Baitullah Mehsud has an aversion to publicity and photographs
Baitullah Mehsud, as his name suggests, belongs to the Mehsud tribe in Pakistan's troubled South Waziristan region.
Since 9/11 he has grown in strength and stature and is said to command as many as 20,000 pro-Taliban militants. A majority belong to the Mehsud tribe.
Mehsud's South Waziristan is regarded as a safe haven for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, although recent advances by the Pakistani army in the neighbouring Swat valley mean that it is not now so secure.
He has a $5m US reward on his head.
His men are accused of playing a major role in advances made in recent years , especially in providing a sanctuary for fighters to operate in Afghanistan.
See a map of the region
After a failed peace accord in February 2005, Baitullah Mehsud's militants waged a guerrilla war that virtually pushed the army out of South Waziristan. Since then he has virtually ruled the area as his personal fiefdom.
Only jihad can bring peace to the world
Baitullah Mehsud,speaking to the BBC in October, 2007
Meeting Baitullah Mehsud
In pictures: Taliban stronghold
From 2006 a wave of suicide bombings swept across Pakistan - credited by intelligence operatives to Mehsud's lieutenant, Qari Hussain, among others.
Mehsud came to worldwide attention in the aftermath of the 2007 Red Mosque siege in Islamabad - in which the security forces confronted and forcibly ejected militant students who were mostly loyal to him.
The violent end to the siege led to Mehsud further training his guns on the Pakistani authorities, ordering a string of bomb attacks, often involving suicide bombers, across the country.
The siege gave rise to a larger militant alliance across the tribal region called the Tehrik Taleban Pakistan (TTP), of which Mehsud became the leader.
The Pakistani government has also accused him of ordering former PM Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007.
Mehsud has denied he had anything to do with the attack.
Pakistani officials have complained that the US has failed to hit Mehsud with drone attacks despite them having supplied co-ordinates three times. The reason they gave was that Mehsud has been more focused against Pakistan in his militancy rather than fully directing his militants against Nato in Afghanistan.
But the dynamics in the region are changing.
The government says it has cowed the second largest TTP faction - in Bajaur.
A third - Maulana Fazlullah's in Swat - has been under heavy attack throughout 2009 by the army. It says that no militants no remain in the area.
Mehsud himself is reported to be part of a wider Waziristan-based alliance with groups led by Maulvi Nazeer in Wana and Hafiz Gul Bahadur in Miranshah.
Inter-factional rivalries were said to behind a deadly bomb attack on a restaurant in the town of Jandola in March 2009 that left at least 10 people dead.
Aversion
Intelligence reports claim that Mehsud's force has a large number of foreigners.
Mehsud has turned South Waziristan into his personal fiefdom
However, when the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan visited the Mehsuds in October 2007, no foreign fighters were visible.
The few journalists who have met Mehsud speak of his earnest desire to support his actions by his interpretation of Islamic ideals.
The emphasis here is on jihad (holy war) against foreign occupying forces in Afghanistan and the establishment of an Islamic state.
These include the use of suicide bombers and cross-border attacks on international forces based there.
There is also his aversion to publicity in general, and to photography in particular.
It is an aversion he shares with Taliban supreme commander Mullah Omar, with whom he is said to have a "good relationship".
Commander Mehsud says it is the duty of every Muslim to wage jihad against "the infidel forces of America and Britain".
Talking to the BBC in an exclusive interview earlier in 2007, he said the militants were determined to achieve their goal of freeing Afghanistan through jihad.
"Only jihad can bring peace to the world," he said.
The militant leader on several occasions has openly admitted to crossing the border to fight foreign troops.
Baitullah Mehsud has an aversion to publicity and photographs
Baitullah Mehsud, as his name suggests, belongs to the Mehsud tribe in Pakistan's troubled South Waziristan region.
Since 9/11 he has grown in strength and stature and is said to command as many as 20,000 pro-Taliban militants. A majority belong to the Mehsud tribe.
Mehsud's South Waziristan is regarded as a safe haven for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, although recent advances by the Pakistani army in the neighbouring Swat valley mean that it is not now so secure.
He has a $5m US reward on his head.
His men are accused of playing a major role in advances made in recent years , especially in providing a sanctuary for fighters to operate in Afghanistan.
See a map of the region
After a failed peace accord in February 2005, Baitullah Mehsud's militants waged a guerrilla war that virtually pushed the army out of South Waziristan. Since then he has virtually ruled the area as his personal fiefdom.
Only jihad can bring peace to the world
Baitullah Mehsud,speaking to the BBC in October, 2007
Meeting Baitullah Mehsud
In pictures: Taliban stronghold
From 2006 a wave of suicide bombings swept across Pakistan - credited by intelligence operatives to Mehsud's lieutenant, Qari Hussain, among others.
Mehsud came to worldwide attention in the aftermath of the 2007 Red Mosque siege in Islamabad - in which the security forces confronted and forcibly ejected militant students who were mostly loyal to him.
The violent end to the siege led to Mehsud further training his guns on the Pakistani authorities, ordering a string of bomb attacks, often involving suicide bombers, across the country.
The siege gave rise to a larger militant alliance across the tribal region called the Tehrik Taleban Pakistan (TTP), of which Mehsud became the leader.
The Pakistani government has also accused him of ordering former PM Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007.
Mehsud has denied he had anything to do with the attack.
Pakistani officials have complained that the US has failed to hit Mehsud with drone attacks despite them having supplied co-ordinates three times. The reason they gave was that Mehsud has been more focused against Pakistan in his militancy rather than fully directing his militants against Nato in Afghanistan.
But the dynamics in the region are changing.
The government says it has cowed the second largest TTP faction - in Bajaur.
A third - Maulana Fazlullah's in Swat - has been under heavy attack throughout 2009 by the army. It says that no militants no remain in the area.
Mehsud himself is reported to be part of a wider Waziristan-based alliance with groups led by Maulvi Nazeer in Wana and Hafiz Gul Bahadur in Miranshah.
Inter-factional rivalries were said to behind a deadly bomb attack on a restaurant in the town of Jandola in March 2009 that left at least 10 people dead.
Aversion
Intelligence reports claim that Mehsud's force has a large number of foreigners.
Mehsud has turned South Waziristan into his personal fiefdom
However, when the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan visited the Mehsuds in October 2007, no foreign fighters were visible.
The few journalists who have met Mehsud speak of his earnest desire to support his actions by his interpretation of Islamic ideals.
The emphasis here is on jihad (holy war) against foreign occupying forces in Afghanistan and the establishment of an Islamic state.
These include the use of suicide bombers and cross-border attacks on international forces based there.
There is also his aversion to publicity in general, and to photography in particular.
It is an aversion he shares with Taliban supreme commander Mullah Omar, with whom he is said to have a "good relationship".
Commander Mehsud says it is the duty of every Muslim to wage jihad against "the infidel forces of America and Britain".
Talking to the BBC in an exclusive interview earlier in 2007, he said the militants were determined to achieve their goal of freeing Afghanistan through jihad.
"Only jihad can bring peace to the world," he said.
The militant leader on several occasions has openly admitted to crossing the border to fight foreign troops.
No comments:
Post a Comment