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Taliban Chief Cracks Jokes, Vows Attacks

Image: New Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud
The purported new Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, left, with his comrade Waliur Rehman, front center, vow to strike back at Pakistan and the U.S. for the increasing number of drone attacks in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Ishtiaq Mehsud / AP)


October 5, 2009

SARAROGHA, Pakistan — Flanked by heavily armed fighters, the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban sat on a blue blanket, amiable and relaxed as he cracked jokes and mixed in threats of vengeance for deadly U.S. airstrikes.

One day later, a suicide bomber attacked a U.N. office in Islamabad.

Hakimullah Mehsud met with reporters Sunday for the first time since winning control of the militant group, quashing speculation that he had been slain in a succession struggle following the killing of his predecessor in a U.S. drone attack.

He also described his group’s relationship to al-Qaida as one of “love and affection.” Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding out in the remote border region with Afghanistan, possibly in territory controlled by Hakimullah.

The militant vowed to retaliate against the U.S. and Pakistan for deadly attacks on his allies and said his fighters will repel an anticipated Pakistani offensive into his stronghold.

Hakimullah made his threat of vengeance hours before a suicide bomber disguised as a security officer killed five people at a U.N. office in Islamabad on Monday. …

U.S. closely watching moves

U.S. officials are watching closely to see whether Hakimullah will direct more fighters across the border where U.S. and NATO forces face attacks by insurgents. … He said the Pakistani Taliban were fighting for the imposition of Islamic law in Pakistan and to rid it from the “clutches of the Americans and the Jews.”

Vow of revenge

He vowed his forces would avenge Baitullah Mehsud’s killing and would strike back at Pakistan and the U.S. for the increasing airstrikes.

Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan in the last year in a covert program, killing several militant commanders along with sympathizers and civilians. The Pakistani government publicly protests the attacks but is widely believed to sanction them and provide intelligence for at least some.

“There is no doubt that American spy planes are being used in these attacks, but we know all the intelligence is being provided by Pakistan,” Hakimullah said. “We have taken revenge for the past attacks and we will definitely take revenge for the remaining drone attacks.”

Full story

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10/8/2009 Update

Suicide Bomb Rocks Indian Embassy in Kabul


The wreckage of a vehicle used in a bombing attack on the Indian Embassy is being towed away at the site of the explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 8, 2009. (Photo credit: Altaf Qadri / AP)


October 8, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the Indian Embassy in the busy center of Afghanistan’s capital on Thursday, killing 17 people and wounding nearly 80 in the second major attack in the city in less than a month.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the 8:30 a.m. assault and said the embassy was the target. …

It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since Sept. 17, when a suicide bomber killed 16 people, including six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians, on a road in the center of the capital. …

A suicide attack against the Indian Embassy on July 7, 2008, killed more than 60 people. The road in front of the embassy has been barricaded since then. …

Full story

Video

Taliban blast kills 17 in Afghanistan (MSNBC, Oct. 8, 2009) — A suicide car bomb detonates outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing at least 17 people and wounding 80. MSNBC.com’s Dara Brown reports (00:54)

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10/9/2009 Update

‘Doomsday’ Blast Kills 41 Near Pakistan Bazaar


Rescuers go through the wreckage of a bus that was hit by a car bomb in Peshawar, Pakistan, Oct. 9, 2009. (Photo credit: Fayaz Aziz / Reuters)


October 9, 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle along a road near a well-known market in Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 41 people and underscoring militants’ ability to strike in major cities despite U.S.-backed military offensives pressuring their networks.

The attack in the Khyber Bazaar area came as Pakistan’s army prepares for another major operation in the al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan tribal region. The militants have threatened bombings if the army doesn’t back off, but the U.S. has continued to prod Pakistan to take action against insurgents using its soil to fuel the insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan.

Television footage showed the charred skeleton of a bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus. A nearby vehicle was in flames.

Noor Alam saw the vehicle explode, and suffered wounds on his legs and face.

“I saw a blood soaked leg landing close to me,” Alam told The Associated Press at the overwhelmed Lady Reading hospital. “I understood for the first time in my life what a doomsday would look like.”

Blast levels passing minibus

Peshawar Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the attacker was in a car packed with “a huge quantity of explosives and artillery rounds.” A minibus apparently carrying passengers nearby was also leveled in the blast.

It came days after a suicide attack killed five at a U.N. office in the capital, Islamabad and two weeks after another explosion killed 11 in a Peshawar commercial area.

It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber demolished a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud in March, killing about 50.

Provincial Health Minister Syed Zahir Ali Shah said 41 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Friday. …

Militants in Pakistan also have targeted trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Early Friday, militants ambushed a tanker carrying fuel for the Western troops at a gas station near Peshawar, torching it, said Fazal Rabi, a police official. No injuries or deaths were reported.

U.S.-Pakistan tensions rising

The attacks come amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan over a multibillion-dollar U.S. aid package that is aimed at helping Pakistan’s economy and other nonmilitary sectors.

Pakistan’s army has raised concern over strings attached to the aid, bolstering critics who say it will invite U.S. interference.

The debate over the proposal also has exposed rifts between Pakistan’s military and its weak civilian government.

The government has hailed the package, which would provide $1.5 billion a year over the next five years. But the measure, which awaits President Barack Obama’s signature, makes U.S. aid contingent on whether Pakistan’s government maintains effective control over the military, among other conditions.

The army, which has ruled Pakistan for around half its 62-year existence, raised “serious concern” over the conditions, while the government said nothing in it was against Pakistan’s interests.

Full story

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1/31/2010 Update

Pakistan Checks Reported Death of Taliban Chief

Intelligence officials say U.S. drone strike targeted Hakimullah Mehsud

Image: File photo of Pakistan Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud with his arm around then-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud
Militant commander Hakimullah Mehsud is seen with his arm around then-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud during a news conference in South Waziristan in May 2008. Baitullah Mehsud reportedly died in a U.S. drone attack in August 2009. (Photo credit: Stringer — Pakistan / Reuters)


January 31, 2010

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani army said Sunday that it was investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike in mid-January.

The army’s announcement came shortly after Pakistani state television 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,” army spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press. “We are investigating whether it is true or wrong.”

A tribal elder told the AP that he attended Mehsud’s funeral in the Mamuzai area of Orakzai on Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the Taliban.

Pakistani intelligence officials have said that Mehsud was targeted in a U.S. drone strike in South Waziristan on Jan. 14, triggering rumors 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 told the AP on Sunday that they have confirmation that the Taliban chief’s legs and abdomen were wounded in the strike. …

Full story

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Late update

: Taliban source says commander alive, will release tape soon


Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud speaks to reporters in Mamouzi, Pakistan, in 2008. (Photo credit: AFP — Getty Images / File)

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1/15/2012 Update

Pakistan Taliban Leader Reported Dead in U.S. Strike

Hakimullah Mehsud
In this Oct. 4, 2009 file photo, Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud arrives in Sararogha to meet with the media in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border. Pakistani intelligence officials said on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2012 that they intercepted militant radio communications indicating the Pakistani Taliban’s leader Mehsud may have been killed in a recent U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan. (Photo credit: Ishtiaq Mehsud / AP file)

By Zarar Khan

January 15, 2012

ISLAMABAD — Intercepted militant radio communications indicate the leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in a recent U.S. drone strike, Pakistani intelligence officials said Sunday. A Taliban official denied that. …

The claim that the Pakistani Taliban chief was killed came from officials who said they intercepted a number of Taliban radio conversations. In about a half a dozen intercepts, the militants discussed whether their chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed on Jan. 12 in the North Waziristan tribal area. Some militants confirmed Mehsud was dead, and one criticized others for talking about the issue over the radio. …

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Asimullah Mehsud denied the group’s leader was killed and said he was not in the area where the drone strike occurred.

In early 2010, both Pakistani and American officials said they believed a missile strike had killed Hakimullah Mehsud along the border of North and South Waziristan. They were proved wrong when videos appeared showing him still alive.

The Pakistani Taliban is linked to attacks against U.S. targets. They trained the Pakistani-American [Faisal Shahzad] who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square in 2010 and is tied to a suicide bombing that killed seven CIA agents at an Afghan base in 2009. [links added]

Full story

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11/2/2013 Update

Leader of Pakistan Taliban Killed in U.S. Drone Strike


Hakimullah Mehsud, center, leader of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Movement of Pakistani Taliban), talks with journalists in Pakistan’s Orakzai tribal agency near the Afghanistan border on Nov. 26, 2008. (EPA file via NBC News)

By Waj Khan, Mushtaq Yousafzai and Mike Brunker

November 1, 2013

The leader of the Pakistan Taliban was killed Friday in a U.S. drone strike in Northwest Pakistan, U.S. and Pakistani officials tell NBC News.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed  the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in a CIA drone strike.

A Pakistani security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News earlier that Mehsud was killed earlier in the day in Danday Darpakhel village of North Waziristan.

A senior member of the Pakistani Taliban, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death.

“It is very painful to announce that our dearest, brave and sincere leader Hakimullah Mehsud died in drone attack,” he said.

The U.S. official said he could not confirm other deaths in the attack, but reports in Pakistani news media said a total of four people were killed and five others injured in the strikes, which targeted a compound. The dead reportedly included two other senior TTP officials, Abdullah Bahar Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud’s new deputy, and commander Tariq Afridi, the TTP commander in Pakistan’s Dara Adamkhel region. …

The senior Pakistani Taliban member said the TTP held an emergency meeting in the tribal areas soon after learning of Mehsud’s death and selected two commanders — Maulvi Omar Khalid Khurasani, commander in the Mahmand tribal region, and Maulana Fazlullah, head of the Swat Taliban — as possible replacements for Mehsud, who had a $5 million reward on his head posted by the U.S. …

The TTP has waged a decade-long insurgency against the Pakistani government from sanctuaries along the Afghan border. It has mainly targeted the Pakistani government, in suicide bombings and other attacks, but has on occasion helped the Afghan Taliban in their war against U.S.-led NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The TTP also has claimed claims responsibility for a failed bombing plot in New York City’s Times Square in 2010 as well as an attack on Camp Chapman in Afghanistan’s Khost province in 2009 that killed seven CIA officials. …

Hakimullah Mehsud took over the Pakistani Taliban’s leadership in 2009 when his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone strike.

He came to prominence as a young, brash field commander of the Pakistani Taliban in the mid-2000s, often appearing in propaganda videos.

U.S. officials told NBC News early last month that Mehsud’s second-in-command, Latif Mehsud, had been captured in Afghanistan by U.S. troops. …

Full story

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Related reports on this site

Taliban First Strike on U.S. Soil (May 8, 2010)

Video

Alleged Times Square bomber an unusual suspect (NBC Nightly News, May 5, 2010) — Faisel Shahzad, the Pakistan-born American citizen arrested in connection with an attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square, comes from one of Pakistan’s most elite military families and has not been known to have expressed extremist, religious views. NBC’s Richard Engel reports. (00:32)

Al-Qaida Aims to Hit U.S. with WMD (Jan. 26, 2010)

Al-Qaida’s Next High-Value Target (Jan. 18, 2010)

The White House roof in all its glory

New Details in CIA Bombing (Jan. 10, 2010)

Balawi Fit Suicide Bomber Profile (Jan. 5, 2010)

CIA Zawahiri Team Decimated (Jan. 4, 2010)

Where is Osama Bin Laden? (Dec. 10, 2009)

Osama bin Laden Personality Profile (Dec. 6, 2009)

Afghan War Expands to Region (Oct. 8, 2009)

Bin Laden Attacks Obama (Sept. 14, 2009)

Bin Laden Rails Against Obama (June 4, 2009)

Al-Qaida Lashes Out At Obama (June 3, 2009)

White House Attack Will “Amaze” (March 31, 2009)

Taliban, al-Qaida Up the Ante (Sept. 21, 2008)

Al-Qaida Threatens New Attacks (Sept. 20, 2008)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — October 5, 2008

Image: Activists in Pakistan
Activists of civil society Fundamental Rights Commission chant slogans behind a burning U.S. flag during a rally to condemn the U.S. missile strikes in Pakistani tribal areas, Oct. 5, 2008 in Hyderabad, Pakistan. (Photo credit: Pervez Masih / AP)

After the Primary Election: Day 26

One year ago today, on the 26th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported that the senior British commander in Afghanistan had said that a decisive military victory in Afghanistan was impossible and that the objective in Afghanistan should be to achieve a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat. I also reported on a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan and ongoing violence in Iraq.





13 Responses to “Taliban Leader Hakimullah Mehsud Vows Revenge”
  1. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Missiles Pound bin Laden Refuge Says:

    […] The Pakistani army said it was investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike in mid-January. […]

  2. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Times Square Bomb Plot Suspects Says:

    […] In a one-minute video, the group said the attack was in revenge for the death of its leader Baitullah Mehsud and the recent killings of the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq […]

  3. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Taliban First Strike on U.S. Soil Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge (Oct. 5, 2009) […]

  4. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » New York Bomb Suspect Arrested Says:

    […] The Taliban in Pakistan said Sunday it planted the bomb to avenge the death of its leader Baitullah Mehsud, the recent killings of the top two leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, and U.S. interference in Muslim countries. […]

  5. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Jacob Wetterling — Latest News Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge […]

  6. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » New Details in CIA Bombing Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge (Oct. 5, 2009) […]

  7. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Times Square Taliban Link Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge (Oct. 5, 2009) […]

  8. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Yemeni Clerics Threaten Jihad Says:

    […] The Pakistani army said it was investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike in mid-January. The army’s announcement came shortly after Pakistani state television reported that Mehsud died in Orakzai, an area in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region where he was reportedly being treated for his injuries. […]

  9. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Al-Qaida’s Next High-Value Target Says:

    […] The Pakistani army said it was investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike in mid-January. The army’s announcement came shortly after Pakistani state television reported that Mehsud died in Orakzai, an area in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region where he was reportedly being treated for his injuries. […]

  10. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » AfPak War: Bombers Strike Lahore Says:

    […] Pakistani Taliban are believed to have lost their top commander, Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile strike in January 2010. The group has denied Mehsud is dead but has but has failed to prove he’s still alive. […]

  11. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » The Taliban’s “Dirty Dozen” Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge (Oct. 5, 2009) […]

  12. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Top al-Qaida Commander Killed Says:

    […] The United States does not acknowledge the CIA-run program, though its officials have confirmed the death of high-value targets before, including the head of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009 — a strike welcomed by many Pakistan officials because he too was a sworn enemy of the country. […]

  13. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Many Veterans Sour on Iraq and Afghanistan Wars Says:

    […] Taliban Leader Vows Revenge […]

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