Taliban leader killed in Pakistan
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The reading
The leader of the Taliban in Pakistan was killed in a drone attack on Friday. Hakimullah Mehsud was the most wanted man in Pakistan. He died in the remote Waziristan region of north-western Pakistan. Three other people died in the drone strike. In 2010, the U.S. government said it would pay $5 million for information about where Mr Mehsud lived. The U.S. wanted him for a deadly attack on one of its military bases in Afghanistan in 2009. Seven Americans and a Jordanian died in that attack. The Pakistan government told America that it "strongly condemns the U.S. drone strike". The Taliban said: "We confirm with great [sadness] that our [great] leader was martyred in a drone attack."
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Hakimullah Mehsud became leader of the Pakistan Taliban in 2009, following the death of the previous leader in a drone attack. Mehsud showed how much damage he could create in Pakistan soon after he became leader. He was behind five terror attacks in a single day in three different Pakistani cities. Five days later, there were three different attacks in the city of Lahore. American intelligence officials say he was also behind a planned terror attack in New York's Times Square in 2010. Security sources say his death is a major blow to the Taliban in Pakistan. It might also be bad news for peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Taliban. The two sides had been talking for months.
Sources:
- http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/01/world/asia/pakistan-violence/
- http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-26417-The-rise-and-fall-of-Hakimullah
