New TTP chief: Meanwhile, intelligence officials and Taliban sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said that Taliban commanders were meeting in the Tribal Areas on Friday to choose a successor. It was unclear when they might reach a decision.| "Rock-paper-scissors, first man to 1,059!" |
Three Pakistani intelligence officials said the likeliest successor | needed to have a small thermal signature and very, very keen ears |
was Mehsud's deputy, Hakeemullah Mehsud, a commander known for recruiting and training suicide bombers. Two other prominent possibilities, the officials said, were | checking flight schedules to Mogadishu and finding someone to watch the goats |
Azmatullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, also close associates of Mehsud. |