A US drone fired two missiles at a Taliban commander's house in Laddah tehsil of South Waziristan on Tuesday, killing 10 Taliban, said officials and a Taliban spokesman. "The drone targeted Taliban commander Abdur Rahim Burki's house ... local sources have confirmed 10 casualties," said the officials. Another account put the death toll at 14 and the number of injured at seven. A Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq confirmed the strike, but said only six Taliban had been killed.
Last Wednesday, Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and his wife were reportedly killed in a drone strike in the same area. The Taliban spokesman, Tariq, also called AP, and repeated assertions that "Baitullah is still alive".
Meanwhile, CNN reported on Monday that TTP chief Baitullah was killed last week during a CIA drone attack while getting a leg massage on the roof of his father-in-law's house, according to the AFP news agency. Citing an unnamed US official, CNN said, "US surveillance in Pakistan spied a short, stocky man resembling the physical description of Baitullhah on the roof of his father-in-law's home in South Waziristan." |