Pakistani Taliban commanders have acknowledged that their former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed by a U.S. air strike.
This is the first time the militant group has acknowledged Mehsud's death.
U.S. and Pakistani officials have been saying that Mehsud died in the
August 5 missile strike near the Afghan border, but the Taliban had
repeatedly denied it.
On Tuesday, two Taliban commanders, Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur
Rehman, said their leader died Sunday from injuries he sustained in the
missile strike.
On Saturday, another Taliban commander (Maulvi Faqir Mohammad) announced that Hakimullah Mehsud had been named the group's new leader.
Earlier, Pakistani officials said senior Taliban members have been
unable to agree on a new leader, and that infighting had erupted,
putting the militant group in a state of disarray.
Baitullah Mehsud commanded Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a network of at
least 13 groups that is responsible for many attacks in Pakistan.