Pakistani warplanes bomb Baitullah Mehsud’s stronghold

September 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A roadside bomb struck a Pakistani military convoy close to the Afghan border Monday, killing at least two soldiers, a security official said. The attack took place near Wana, the main town of the Taliban heartland of South Waziristan.

September 7th, 2009 Roadside bomb hits Pakistan army convoy, 2 deadDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — A roadside bomb killed two Pakistani soldiers Monday in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border, intelligence and army officials said. Two soldiers also were wounded when the bomb went off near the convoy traveling from Shakai to Wana, the main town in South Waziristan tribal region, the three officials said.

August 25th, 2009 Pakistani Taliban say chief Baitullah Mehsud deadDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Two commanders of the Pakistani Taliban acknowledged Tuesday that the militants' top leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed by a U.S. missile strike.

August 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A 42-member tribal gathering Saturday appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as the new head of the Pakistani Taliban though the group insists its previous head Baitullah Mehsud is still alive. Talking to BBC from an unknown location, acting TTP head Moulvi Faqir Muhammad categorically refuted reports that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in a US drone attack last week.

August 20th, 2009 Bomb wounds 7 close to Pakistan capitalRAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A bomb exploded at a security checkpoint close to the Pakistani capital late Thursday, wounding seven people. Pakistan is battling Islamist militants blamed for scores of bloody bombings over the last two years.

August 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Army has said that it would require months to prepare for a ground offensive against the Taliban in their South Waziristan stronghold on the Afghan border. Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmed, Commander of the 1 Strike Corps in Mangla in Pakistan Kashmir, said this while reacting to comments made by visiting US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke.

August 13th, 2009 Rebels say Yemen planes bomb north for second daySAN'A, Yemen — Shiite rebels and local officials say Yemeni warplanes have bombed a northern province bordering Saudi Arabia for a second straight day, hitting a number of towns and killing several people. The latest attacks come a day after air force planes hit a market in Saada province and killed some civilians, according to the rebels and local officials.

August 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - An American adviser in Islamabad, Pakistan, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has cautioned that even if the Mehsuds are proved to be dead, there is no guarantee that the Pakistani Taliban would fall apart. "There is broad recognition that this is no longer an old-fashioned test of wills with troublesome Pashtun warlords and that eliminating Baitullah Mehsud would not end the insurgency in South Waziristan nor its influence on the insurgencies in North-West Frontier Province," the New York Times quotes the official, as saying in an e-mail message.

August 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani security official said late Wednesday the intelligence agencies were trying to confirm reports that Taliban head Baitullah Mehsud had died in a suspected US missile strike that killed his wife in tribal region near Afghan border. "We have been busy for hours to check the information coming from the area that Baitullah also died with his wife," a local intelligence officer said on condition of anonymity.

August 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The wife of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a suspected US drone strike in northwestern Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency, TV channels reported Wednesday. TV reports said the drone hit the house of Akramuddin, father-in-law of Mehsud, killing four people and injuring two others.

August 5th, 2009 KARACHI - Pak-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud's wife was killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan's South Waziristan on Wednesday, Pakistani military officials said. Although Mehsud's aides didn't confirm the report, they admitted that a woman was killed in Pakistan's tribal region.

July 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's aide Wafa Mohammad was held Wednesday in a town in the North West Frontier Province, a media report said. Wafa Mohammad and his four sons were held in Takhtbai town, Express TV reported.

June 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - No militant organization has taken responsibility for the murder of former close aide of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, Qari Zainuddin, yet, but its is believed that the TTP chief has ordered his associates to kill Zainuddin. Zainuddin, who parted ways with the TTP chief, had recently termed Mehsud as 'unIslamic' which obviously infuriated him, The Daily Times reports.

June 18th, 2009 LONDON - To turn the main support base of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Baitullah Mehsud against him, the Mehsud tribesmen, Pakistan has imposed an economic blockade on his mountain stronghold to encourage civilians to flee before a planned ground offensive. Authorities are also arresting dozens of Mehsud tribesmen and shutting down the businesses of others on the fringes of South Waziristan , according to local officials.

April 19th, 2009 Blasts reported in northwestern PakistanPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Two loud explosions on Sunday shook a northwest Pakistan militant stronghold that has been the frequent target of U.S. missile strikes, a local resident said.