Pakistani Taliban Confirm Leader Died In U.S. Strike

The Pakistani Taliban acknowledged that the militants' top leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was dead, ending weeks of claims and counterclaims over his fate following a U.S. missile strike on his father-in-law's home this month.

The Taliban had insisted for weeks that Baitullah Mehsud was still alive following the missile strike, while U.S. and Pakistani officials said he was almost certainly dead and a leadership struggle had ensued.

Two of Mehsud's top aides, Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, called The Associated Press to say that he had died last Sunday of wounds from the Aug. 5 strike near the Afghan border. "He was wounded. He got the wounds in a drone strike and he was martyred two days ago," Hakimullah Mehsud said. Rehman later repeated the same statement.

Both also confirmed an earlier Taliban announcement that Hakimullah Mehsud (pictured) now leads the Pakistani Taliban, while Rehman would lead the movement's wing in South Waziristan.