| Be still my beating heart ... |
But some reports also had the Taliban denying Mehsud's death.
Earlier reports said the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan was ill and was expected to die within a day. Mehsud is said to have succumbed to kidney failure and was believed to be about 34 years old.
The Pakistan government blamed Mehsud for the December 27, 2007, assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but Mehsud denied involvement. In his first television interview, conducted by Al-Jazeera last year, Mehsud said his ultimate aim was to attack New York and London, England.
He led thousands of militants in South Waziristan, the mountainous region of northwest Pakistan that borders Afghanistan and where the Taliban and al Qaeda are active.
Mehsud's death would leave a power vacuum within the Mehsud tribe and the Pakistani Taliban, analysts say. Since there was no second in command of the Mehsud tribe, tribal splits are expected. Mehsud's death also is expected to spark a power struggle and the appointment of a new Taliban leader in Pakistan, but whoever replaces Mehsud is not expected to have as much influence and control in the region.