Update 1:46 pm: Boo. The Long War Journal says to put away our party hats. The fog of Predator War: Baitullah is alive, say Pakistani Taliban. (I'm still holding out hope, possums. You know what liars and disinformation artists these Talibani schmoes are.)
At the meeting Hakimullah Mehsud was appointed as TTP Chief after the reported killing of Baitullah Mehsud, the state media reported.
The agenda of the meeting was to appoint successor of Baitullah Mehsud, sources said.
You'll also be pleased to know that it doesn't sound like Baitullah's last days were any picnic...
"On that particular night, Baitullah Mehsud was not feeling well and was on an intravenous infusion when a missile strike took place and he became a target. His wife and other three family members were also killed. Baitullah died on the spot," said Raqeebullah.
"Baitullah Mehsud was badly injured and his face was disfigured. He was buried later on in the night at Jangri area in south Waziristan," he added.
This puts me in such a good mood I thought I'd offer up a little tune in honor of the occasion:
(FYI - some additional fun facts on the Islamic Jihad's latest suckers can be found below the fold)
From Rediff:
After his killing, the Taliban Shura (the supreme council of the Taliban) has convened meetings to elect the new TTP chief. There are three candidates in the running -- Hakimullah Mehsud, Azmatullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman Mehsud.
Hakimullah Mehsud, in his late twenties, is a strong candidate and is also the cousin of Qari Hussain, the heartless commander who is the trainer and sponsor of suicide bombers across the country.
Hakimullah is known to be Baitullah's deputy; he is currently in charge of the Taliban at Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies. He does not stay on at one place and is known as a mobile Taliban commander amongst the militants.
Hakimullah also has good contacts with Lashkari Jhangvi, a fanatic Sunni outfit. He has good contacts in Punjab [ Images
] and Sindh and has trained a large number of Punjabi Taliban militants
in South Waziristan. Hakimullah uses these Punjabi Taliban militants
whenever he needs to carry out a suicide attack in settled areas.
Azmatullah Mehsud, the second candidate, is a young militant commander and had earlier fought in Afghanistan. He is now leading the insurgency in southern Waziristan against the Pakistan army [ Images ]. Currently, he is the Taliban commander at Barwand area in south Waziristan. However, he was never a popular commander among Taliban militants and his candidature has surprised many.
The third candidate is Mufti Waliur Rehman, a young commander who belongs to the Makin area in south Waziristan. He is Baitullah's cousin and was very close to the TTP chief. He has maintained a low-profile and has never appeared in front of the media in the past.
"Baitullah Mehsud always said that Waliur Rehman would be his successor but the Shura would decide whom to pick as TTP head," says Raqeebullah.
Or he'll just be dead, Fred.
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