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Feb 5, 2010

Taleban chief likely dead



WASHINGTON - PAKISTAN Taleban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was likely killed in US missile strikes but there was still no definitive evidence that he was dead, a US defense official told AFP on Thursday. 'There's a good likelihood that he's dead,' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. But final confirmation would have to wait 'until a body pops up, or photographic evidence ... or reliable witnesses' verify reports. US missile attacks have repeatedly targeted Mehsud, the head of Pakistan's most powerful Taleban faction and involved in a December suicide attack on the CIA in Afghanistan - the deadliest attack on the US spy agency in 26 years.

Speculation about his death has mounted since a Jan 14 US drone strike in the Taleban stronghold of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, but Mehsud purportedly released two audio statements denying his demise. On Jan 17, a day after Mehsud's last statement, a US drone carried out another attack that officials said also targeted the militant leader. A US counter-terrorism official said rumours were taking root because Mehsud had been out of view. 'As more and more time passes without this major terrorist - one of the worst people in the world - making any kind of appearance, the rumors of his demise become more deeply seated,' said the official, who asked not to be named. 'That's apparently prompted some to speculate he's gone. I certainly hope they're right.' -- AFP