Pakistan Taliban say Baitullah Mehsud is dead

August 26, 2009 , amīr (leader) of the (TTP), is dead, said two Taliban leaders in a phone call to the. Mehsud was reportedly killed on August 5, 2009, during a on ; however,, who was recently chosen as Baitullah's successor, and  told the BBC that Mehsud had died on Sunday, August 23, 2009 of injuries sustained on August 5. Pakistani Interior Minister delayed giving official confirmation and asked for patience and an announcement by  or other agencies. Major General, ISPR spokesman, and of the  had said that his death could not be confirmed although U.S.   had claimed that there was "pretty conclusive" evidence that proved Baitullah Mehsud had been killed and that he was 90% sure of it.

Mehsud formed the TTP from an alliance of about five pro-Taliban groups in December 2007, and commanded up to 5,000 fighters. Pakistan blamed him for numerous attacks including the assassination in 2007 of Benazir Bhutto, the former of Pakistan and wife of , according to. The U.S. offered a 5 million bounty for his capture. According to the BBC, Pakistan had been unable to provide tangible evidence of his death because of the "remote and hostile terrain" of South Waziristan.