[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Taliban commander Qari Hussain on Friday denied reports that Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) leader Tahir Yuldachev was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan in August.Talking to reporters from an undisclosed location, he said there was no truth in these reports as Tahir Yuldachev was alive. He didn't elaborate or promise any evidence to back up his claim.
Qari Hussain, known as master trainer of suicide bombers, is a cousin of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)'s new head Hakimullah Mahsud, who replaced Baitullah Mahsud following the latter's death in a US missile strike in South Waziristan on August 5.
Earlier, Pakistani security agencies officials were quoted as saying by at least two foreign media organizations that Tahir Yuldachev, known as Qari Farooq in Afghanistan and Pakistan, had died in a US drone attack in South Waziristan on August 27. They claimed the information regarding his death was provided to them by sources within the militants.
Meanwhile, official and tribal sources in South Waziristan were quoted as saying that Tahir Yuldachev and Pakistani Taliban commander Noor Islam were indeed injured in a US drone attack on August 27 but it wasn't possible to confirm the death of the IMU leader. These sources pointed out that Noor Islam had recovered from his injuries but no kinformation was available about Tahir Yuldachev's death.
It may be added that a former bodyguard of Tahir Yuldachev had phoned the Radio Liberty in Prague a few days ago to claim that the IMU leader had died in a US drone attack. Speaking in Uzbeki from somewhere in Pakistan, the man said one Abdur Rahman had been appointed as the new IMU head.