Rumors and contradictory news spread on Wednesday about the fate of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Pakistan TV reported he had died of kidney failure overnight but Taliban spokesmen dismissed the report. Militant commanders close to the al-Qaeda-linked warlord said that Mehsud was seriously ill with diabetes and may even be in a coma. "I just spoke to a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud and he did not mention any such thing," said militant spokesman Muslim Khan, based in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley. "It could be government propaganda," Khan said of the Mehsud death report.
Mehsud is the militant commander Pakistani authorities and U.S. intelligence accuse of being behind a wave of suicide attacks across the country, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in late 2007.
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"Baitullah is sick. His condition is precarious," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Mehsud is based in the lawless South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan and independent verification of his condition was impossible.
A senior Taliban commander close to Mehsud confirmed that he was ill but insisted he would pull through. "He is only suffering from a bout of diabetes. He is under treatment but he will be all right," commander Rahim Burki told AFP.