Wife of Taleban chief dies in missile attack

Published on Wednesday 5 August 2009 22:03

A SUSPECTED US missile strike killed a wife of Pakistani Taleban chief Baitullah Mehsud at her father's house yesterday, Pakistani intelligence and military officials said.

Mehsud associates acknowledged a woman was killed but would not confirm her identity. They said Mehsud was not at the South Waziristan home during the attack, which authorities said also killed a second person.

The missile strike could indicate that American intelligence is getting sharper, and that those hunting the Taleban leader are getting closer.

The United States has a bounty of $5 million (3m) on Mehsud's head.

The Taleban commander has been accused in the past of involvement in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and is suspected of being behind dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan.

South Waziristan is part of the north-west tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan where Taleban and al-Qaeda leaders – including possibly Osama bin Laden – are believed to be hiding. Dozens of American missile strikes have landed in the tribal regions over the past year, and lately they have focused on targets linked to Mehsud.

Two intelligence officials and one army official said the missile strike had destroyed the home of Mehsud's father-in-law, Akramud Din, and that two people had been killed, including the second of Mehsud's two wives. An official said agents were seeking details about the second person who died.

The US embassy in Pakistan made no comment yesterday. Washington generally does not acknowledge the missile strikes, which are fired from unmanned drones.

"I think they seem to have good intelligence; there is no doubt about it," retired Pakistani army Lieutenant-General Talat Masood said. "They are closing in, and they are keeping the pressure on these people."

Pakistan's military has carried out several air strikes targeting Mehsud, and the army has said it is preparing for a major offensive against Mehsud and his network in the tribal region.

Lt-Gen Masood said it was likely the military wanted to concentrate on clearing up militants still active in and around the Swat valley, also in the north-west region, where troops are engaged in a separate three-month offensive.

"At the moment, I don't think it has any desire or intention of launching a full-fledged attack in South Waziristan. I feel they are wanting to contain them instead of having a full-fledged attack," he said.

The missile strikes have continued even as Pakistan formally protests them, saying they anger local residents.

Lt-Gen Masood noted that the death of a woman in the latest missile strike could upset some Pakistanis. "People in Pakistan would not like wives to be targeted," he said.