29 May 2013
Last updated at 15:20 GMT
US and Pakistani authorities have offererd a bounty for Waliur Rehman
The
second-in-command of the Pakistani Taliban leader has been killed in a
suspected US drone strike, a senior Taliban source told the BBC.
The Pakistani Taliban leadership has not officially confirmed the death of Waliur Rehman so far.
Earlier, Pakistani security officials said a local Taliban commander was among casualties in the raid.
Missiles hit a house close to the town of Miranshah, in north-west Pakistan, early on Wednesday.
The strike is the first for almost six weeks.
It comes a week after President Barack Obama issued new
guidelines for tighter scrutiny of the drone programme and stricter
targeting rules.
'Considerable victory'
A senior Taliban source in Miranshah told the BBC that one of
those killed in the drone strike was Waliur Rehman, the No. 2 commander
of the Pakistani Taliban.
The US government had placed a $5m (£3.3m) bounty on his
head, accusing him of involvement in attacks on coalition forces in
Afghanistan. These included the 2009 bombing of a US base in which
seven CIA agents were killed.
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Waliur Rehman
- A leading member of Pakistani Taliban from 2005 onwards
- Was a spokesman for Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud who was killed by a drone in 2009
- Was then passed over for overall leadership of the Pakistan Taliban in favour of Hakimullah Mehsud
- In 2010, US added him to list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists
- Reported to have been killed in previous drone strikes on at least two occasions
The BBC's Orla Guerin in
Islamabad says that if the death of Waliur Rehman is confirmed,
Washington will see this as a considerable victory.
However our correspondent notes that confirming who has been
killed by a drone strike can take days or weeks because the strikes
happen in remote areas that are often
On at least two occasions, Waliur Rehman is reported to have been killed in previous drone strikes.
US drone strikes are a major point of contention in Pakistan, and were a key issue in its recent elections.
A Pakistani foreign ministry official condemned the strike as
a breach of sovereignty. "Any drone strike is against the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan," the official, who declined to be
identified, told Reuters news agency.
The latest attack comes at a particularly sensitive time, observers say.
Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, is about to form a government following elections earlier this month.
Defiant
Local residents told the BBC that a compound was hit on
Wednesday morning about 3km (1.8 miles) east of Miran Shah, the
administrative centre of the North Waziristan tribal region.
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Drone strikes
- Bureau of Investigative Journalism has recorded 368 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004
- Vast majority carried out under Barack Obama
- Most strikes in Pakistan have taken place in the tribal area of North Waziristan
They said it was being used by
Pakistan Taliban fighters from neighbouring South Waziristan region who
moved their bases to the area in 2009 to escape a military operation.
Pakistan initially offered covert support for drone strikes
but has over the years become more defiant, saying such strikes are
"counter-productive" and a "violation of sovereignty".
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that any strike
against the Pakistan Taliban would be welcomed by Pakistani officials
because the group has for several years been exclusively focused on
pursuing Pakistani - rather than Afghan - military and civilian targets.
The strike is the first since Pakistan's 11 May elections
which have brought to the fore groups that oppose such attacks and are
seen as feeding on anti-Americanism.
Our correspondent says the strike is seen as an early message
from Washington that legitimate targets in Pakistan's tribal regions
will continue to be targeted by drones unless Pakistanis themselves are
able to neutralise those targets or dismantle militant sanctuaries in
them.
Last Friday President Obama defended the use of drones as a
"just war" of self-defence against militants and a campaign that had
made America safer.
He said there must be "near certainty" that no civilians
would die in such strikes. Drone attacks should only be used amid a
"continuing, imminent threat" to the US where no other options are
available, the guidelines say.
The Afghan-Pakistan border region is home to a variety of
local and Afghan militant groups including fighters linked to al-Qaeda.
Pakistan's security forces have long been accused by the US
on not doing enough to fight the Taliban in the mountains of North
Waziristan.
Drone 'kills Pakistan Taliban chief'
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