Hakeemullah Mehsud: The TTP commander who dodged drones
Mehsud had taken over the TTP in 2010.
Hakeemullah Mehsud is believed to have been killed in a drone strike on Friday. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Hakeemullah Mehsud took over the Pakistani Taliban in August 2009 after a drone strike killed the previous leader, his mentor, Baitullah Mehsud.
Hailing from Dehra village of Kotkai South Waziristan, he belonged to the Ishangi, a sub-tribe of Mehsuds. His reign over the TTP not only saw the group transform into an umbrella group with a number of militant outfits working in tandem with the TTP. He also oversaw of immense bloodshed inside Pakistan by the TTP and groups associated with the TTP.
The TTP commander and his group is responsible for the death of innumerable civilians across Pakistan as well as many soldiers, and the TTP chief carries a $5 million United States government bounty on his head.
Back from the dead
The TTP chief has had a knack of surviving the strikes with at least two previous assassination attempts being claimed as successful, only for the long haired militant to defy the odds and make appearances, seemingly back from the dead.
The first of the drone strikes in which it was claimed the militant commander had been killed too place on January 14, 2010, when a drone fired two missiles at a compound in the Shaktoi area, where it was believed that Hakeemullah slept. But days later he issued an audio tape where he claimed that was not even in the area that was targeted.
Then again on January 15, 2012 reports surfaced that Mehsud had been killed in a strike three days before. However, this was again denied by the TTP and the militant commander made appearances in videos in subsequent months, dispelling notions surrounding him and his influence in the group.
While security sources claimed that he had been killed in a drone strike on Friday evening, a TTP spokesperson denied the report.
Media appearance
Media appearances for Mehsud were rare and far in between. He only seldom appeared in videos of militants and gave even fewer media interviews, especially on camera. His most recent on camera interview was in September by BBC after the Pakistan government had in an All Parties Conference agreed to hold talks with the militant group.
In that interview, Mehsud had listed a stop to drone strikes as one of the preconditions for talks. This point is believed to have been raised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his meeting with US President Barack Obama in their Oval Office meeting in late October.
Hailing from Dehra village of Kotkai South Waziristan, he belonged to the Ishangi, a sub-tribe of Mehsuds. His reign over the TTP not only saw the group transform into an umbrella group with a number of militant outfits working in tandem with the TTP. He also oversaw of immense bloodshed inside Pakistan by the TTP and groups associated with the TTP.
The TTP commander and his group is responsible for the death of innumerable civilians across Pakistan as well as many soldiers, and the TTP chief carries a $5 million United States government bounty on his head.
Back from the dead
The TTP chief has had a knack of surviving the strikes with at least two previous assassination attempts being claimed as successful, only for the long haired militant to defy the odds and make appearances, seemingly back from the dead.
The first of the drone strikes in which it was claimed the militant commander had been killed too place on January 14, 2010, when a drone fired two missiles at a compound in the Shaktoi area, where it was believed that Hakeemullah slept. But days later he issued an audio tape where he claimed that was not even in the area that was targeted.
Then again on January 15, 2012 reports surfaced that Mehsud had been killed in a strike three days before. However, this was again denied by the TTP and the militant commander made appearances in videos in subsequent months, dispelling notions surrounding him and his influence in the group.
While security sources claimed that he had been killed in a drone strike on Friday evening, a TTP spokesperson denied the report.
Media appearance
Media appearances for Mehsud were rare and far in between. He only seldom appeared in videos of militants and gave even fewer media interviews, especially on camera. His most recent on camera interview was in September by BBC after the Pakistan government had in an All Parties Conference agreed to hold talks with the militant group.
In that interview, Mehsud had listed a stop to drone strikes as one of the preconditions for talks. This point is believed to have been raised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his meeting with US President Barack Obama in their Oval Office meeting in late October.