Hellfires kills 20 Taliban, in search for Mehsud



AFP:

A US drone attack on Sunday killed 20 militants in an area of Pakistan's northwest tribal belt where local Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly escaped death days ago, officials said.

The attack took place in Shaktoi area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Miranshah, the main town in the rugged tribal region of North Waziristan -- the same spot where US missiles pounded an extremist hideout on Thursday.

That raid triggered rumours that Mehsud had been killed or injured, but the chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released an audio message late Saturday denying rumours of his demise and vowing revenge for the US strikes.

Security officials said US drones appear to be tracking Mehsud amid a surge in the strikes by unmanned spy planes. Sunday's deadly bombing was the tenth US drone strike to hit Pakistan's tribal belt this month alone.

"The target was a militant compound," said a security official in the area. "Twenty militant deaths have been confirmed."

An intelligence official said that drone aircraft fired at least three missiles, while militants had ringed the demolished compound in the remote and mountainous area and were digging out the bodies.

"The drones are apparently tracking and targeting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, whose presence is frequently reported in the area," he said.

Another security official, who also asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the US strikes, said it was too early to tell if any high-value militant targets were among the 20 killed on Sunday.

...

The attacking UAV was probably a Reaper which carries more weapons than the Predator. We appear to be stalking Mehsud which should make it uncomfortable for anyone to hide him at this point. I suspect these attacks will be relentless until he is dead. It will be interesting to hear of any new messages from him. The attacks will continue until he is unable to talk.

The BBC reports that most of the casualties were Uzbek associates with al Qaeda.

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