Guard kills rival to Pakistan Taliban leader Mehsud

By Alamgir Bitani
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A gunman working as a guard killed a rival of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud on Tuesday, security officials said, dealing a blow to a government plan to defeat al Qaeda ally Mehsud.
The murder came as the military prepares an offensive against Mehsud, who has been accused of a string of bomb attacks including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
Separately, a U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile into a Mehsud stronghold in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, killing six fighters, intelligence officials and a resident said.
The murdered militant commander, known as Qari Zainuddin, had recently spoken out strongly against Mehsud and may have been about to mount a challenge against him. He was killed in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan, police said.
"I confirm that Qari Zainuddin has been shot dead," Salahuddin, superintendent of police in the town, told Reuters.
The gunman was a guard for Zainuddin, an intelligence official said. He wounded another man and escaped.
Militants in northwest Pakistan are split into several factions, some of which are rivals.
The military went on the offensive against Taliban fighters allied with Mehsud in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, in May and are in the final phase of that operation, the army says.
The offensive in Swat came after Taliban gains raised fears for the future of nuclear-armed Pakistan, a vital ally for the United States as it strives to defeat al Qaeda and stabilize Afghanistan.
The government has also ordered an offensive against Mehsud in his South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border.
In recent days, the military has been launching air strikes on Mehsud's bases while soldiers have been securing the main road into the mountainous region populated by ethnic Pashtun tribes.
Tuesday's drone strike, the latest in a string of such attacks, was near the Mehsud stronghold of Makeen.
"They targeted newly built bunkers," said a resident, Mohammad Daud.
Also on Tuesday, Pakistani aircraft attacked a compound in South Waziristan where a large number of militants were gathered for a meeting, intelligence officials said. There was no immediate word on casualties.
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Source: Reuters