dan9999
02-12-2010, 08:09 PM
Pakistani Taliban May Have Lost Two Leaders to U.S. Missiles
Mark Hosenball
Newsweek
February 12, 2010 2:20 PM
U.S. officials say that a second major leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in January - possibly in the same U.S. missile strike that officials are increasingly confident killed Pakistan's Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.
After U.S. authorities launched several rounds of drone-fired missile strikes in mid-January at suspected Taliban encampments in Pakistan, reports began to circulate about the possible death of Hakimullah. The media-hungry Hakimullah, who costarred in a "martyrdom video" recorded by the Jordanian suicide bomber who blew up a CIA outpost in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, has not surfaced in any video or audio message since mid-January. Pakistani authorities have all but pronounced him dead. U.S. officials have said that the longer the Taliban fails to produce evidence that Hakimullah is alive, the more confident they become that he is no more.
Not long after allegations first surfaced about Hakimullah's demise, some reports from the region also alleged that Qari Hussain Mehsud, reputed to be Hakimullah's deputy, may have died at the same time.
Known as a particularly ruthless jihadist, Qari gave an interview to an Associated Press reporter last year in which he threatened to sic his suicide squad on Pakistani-government targets if local security forces moved against the Taliban. "We have enough suicide bombers, and they are asking me to let them sacrifice their lives in the name of Islam, but we will send suicide bombers only if the government acts against us," he told the wire service.
But Qari, like Hakimullah, has not been heard from for several weeks. Said a U.S. counterterrorism official, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information: "There are signs and indications - not yet confirmed - that Qari Hussein may have met his end in January."
U.S. officials say that a second major leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in January - possibly in the same U.S. missile strike that officials are increasingly confident killed Pakistan's Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.
After U.S. authorities launched several rounds of drone-fired missile strikes in mid-January at suspected Taliban encampments in Pakistan, reports began to circulate about the possible death of Hakimullah. The media-hungry Hakimullah, who costarred in a "martyrdom video" recorded by the Jordanian suicide bomber who blew up a CIA outpost in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, has not surfaced in any video or audio message since mid-January. Pakistani authorities have all but pronounced him dead. U.S. officials have said that the longer the Taliban fails to produce evidence that Hakimullah is alive, the more confident they become that he is no more.
Not long after allegations first surfaced about Hakimullah's demise, some reports from the region also alleged that Qari Hussain Mehsud, reputed to be Hakimullah's deputy, may have died at the same time.
The official continued: "It's one thing to say he's vicious; that label has wide application among higher-ups in the Taliban. But this guy is known, too, as a trainer of suicide bombers. He would be a loss both of general leadership and specific skills."
Yet U.S. officials say that even if both Hakimullah and Qari Hussein are now dead, the Taliban still has numerous leadership candidates waiting in the wings. Still, the officials believe continuing pressure, particularly in the form of missile strikes from CIA-operated drone aircraft, keeps the insurgents off-balance and, hopefully, diminishes their ability to carry out deadly attacks.
"It makes sense to keep pounding away at the Taliban," the counterterrorism official noted. "They'll never change their behavior if they think they're winning. You want to force them to keep digging deeper into their bench, raising the chances of splits at the top, and making it clear to everyone that a senior job in the Taliban will indeed be nasty, brutish, and short."
Mark Hosenball
Newsweek
February 12, 2010 2:20 PM
U.S. officials say that a second major leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in January - possibly in the same U.S. missile strike that officials are increasingly confident killed Pakistan's Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.
After U.S. authorities launched several rounds of drone-fired missile strikes in mid-January at suspected Taliban encampments in Pakistan, reports began to circulate about the possible death of Hakimullah. The media-hungry Hakimullah, who costarred in a "martyrdom video" recorded by the Jordanian suicide bomber who blew up a CIA outpost in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, has not surfaced in any video or audio message since mid-January. Pakistani authorities have all but pronounced him dead. U.S. officials have said that the longer the Taliban fails to produce evidence that Hakimullah is alive, the more confident they become that he is no more.
Not long after allegations first surfaced about Hakimullah's demise, some reports from the region also alleged that Qari Hussain Mehsud, reputed to be Hakimullah's deputy, may have died at the same time.
Known as a particularly ruthless jihadist, Qari gave an interview to an Associated Press reporter last year in which he threatened to sic his suicide squad on Pakistani-government targets if local security forces moved against the Taliban. "We have enough suicide bombers, and they are asking me to let them sacrifice their lives in the name of Islam, but we will send suicide bombers only if the government acts against us," he told the wire service.
But Qari, like Hakimullah, has not been heard from for several weeks. Said a U.S. counterterrorism official, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information: "There are signs and indications - not yet confirmed - that Qari Hussein may have met his end in January."
U.S. officials say that a second major leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in January - possibly in the same U.S. missile strike that officials are increasingly confident killed Pakistan's Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.
After U.S. authorities launched several rounds of drone-fired missile strikes in mid-January at suspected Taliban encampments in Pakistan, reports began to circulate about the possible death of Hakimullah. The media-hungry Hakimullah, who costarred in a "martyrdom video" recorded by the Jordanian suicide bomber who blew up a CIA outpost in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, has not surfaced in any video or audio message since mid-January. Pakistani authorities have all but pronounced him dead. U.S. officials have said that the longer the Taliban fails to produce evidence that Hakimullah is alive, the more confident they become that he is no more.
Not long after allegations first surfaced about Hakimullah's demise, some reports from the region also alleged that Qari Hussain Mehsud, reputed to be Hakimullah's deputy, may have died at the same time.
The official continued: "It's one thing to say he's vicious; that label has wide application among higher-ups in the Taliban. But this guy is known, too, as a trainer of suicide bombers. He would be a loss both of general leadership and specific skills."
Yet U.S. officials say that even if both Hakimullah and Qari Hussein are now dead, the Taliban still has numerous leadership candidates waiting in the wings. Still, the officials believe continuing pressure, particularly in the form of missile strikes from CIA-operated drone aircraft, keeps the insurgents off-balance and, hopefully, diminishes their ability to carry out deadly attacks.
"It makes sense to keep pounding away at the Taliban," the counterterrorism official noted. "They'll never change their behavior if they think they're winning. You want to force them to keep digging deeper into their bench, raising the chances of splits at the top, and making it clear to everyone that a senior job in the Taliban will indeed be nasty, brutish, and short."