The wife of the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has been killed in a US missile strike, Pakistani intelligence officials said today.
Two militants were also killed by missiles that struck the house of Mehsud's father-in-law, Akramud Din, in Makeen, a village on the Afghan border, shortly before 1am local time, Reuters reported. Din's daughter was one of two wives of Mehsud. She married him in November last year.
Mehsud's associates would not confirm the report, although they did say a woman was killed in the missile strike in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal region along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and where Taliban and al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding. One of them said Mehsud was not in the house at the time.
A relative told Reuters: "I confirm that the woman who was killed in the strike was the wife of Baitullah Mehsud." He said that four children were also injured.
In June, the Pakistani government ordered a manhunt for Mehsud. Since then, the US, which has placed a $5m (£2.95m) reward on the head of Mehsud, has increased its drone attacks, which have been blamed by many in Pakistan for killing innocent civilians. The US Embassy had no comment on the latest incident. Washington generally does not acknowledge being responsible for such strikes.The Pakistani government publicly condemns such attacks as counterproductive but is suspected of offering tacit approval for them.
Mehsud, a former bodybuilder and smuggler, is the most prominent of Pakistan's Taliban leaders. His Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has allies across the tribal belt and has participated in recent battles against the Pakistani army in the Swat valley.
Mehsud has become Pakistan's most wanted man for his role in dozens of suicide bombings in cities over the last two years. The government says these have killed more than 1,200 people. He denied involvement in the most notorious attack, the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. He is believed to command a force of fighters of more than 10,000, with some estimates putting the figure at over 20,000.
Political analyst and retired Pakistani army Lt Gen Talat Masood said the US raid provided evidence it was "closing in" on the elusive Mehsud. "I think they seem to have good intelligence; there is no doubt about it," he said.
Since June, the Pakistani army has sealed roads around Mehsud's mountain redoubt and villagers have fled the area but the major offensive announced weeks ago, has not materialised. One reason for the delay is that the Pakistani military remains engaged in clearing up militants still active in and around the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan, despite a three-month offensive there against the Taliban.
The military said today that it had killed eight militants and arrested another 14 in operations in Swat and nearby areas during the previous 24 hours.
