Senior Taleban commanders denied that their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, had been killed in a CIA missile strike, while conflicting reports emerged late Saturday of a clash between rival Taleban factions during a meeting to choose a successor. Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan is more a loose alliance of groups operating in Pakistan's lawless and mountainous tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, rather than one cohesive organization. Taking out the man who coordinated the factions could lead to fierce rivalry over who will succeed him, and it could be in the interests of the top commanders to deny their leader was dead until they could agree on who will replace him. Interior Minister Rahman Malik said authorities had received information about a fight breaking out during a meeting, or shoura, between groups led by Hakimullah, one of the Taleban's most powerful commanders, and Waliur Rehman. Both are believed to be top contenders to replace Mehsud should reports of his death in Wednesday's strike prove true. “We had the information that one of them is dead. So the information is being verified. We need to see the dead bodies, we need to do some DNA, we need to have something solid,” Malik told local television. He said the incident occurred Friday. However, Hakimullah called AP to claim that Mehsud was alive. A senior government official, who could not be named due to the sensitivity of the situation, cast doubt on the claim. He said there were reports of a clash among Taleban guards at a meeting Saturday evening and indications some people had been wounded, but that there was no credible information to suggest any of the Taleban leaders were among them. Another Taleban commander, Noor Sayed, denied to The Associated Press that there had been any quarrel between rival Taleban factions. He said he had spoken to Waliur Rehman himself and that he was not injured. Nevertheless, local TV stations were running stories saying that either Hakimullah or Waliur Rehman, or both, had been killed. The meeting was reportedly being held somewhere in the lawless, rugged tribal region of Waziristan. The conflicting reports came as Taleban commanders, including Hakimullah, insisted Mehsud, suspected in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and numerous suicide attacks across Pakistan, was alive despite assertions he was killed during a missile strike on his father-in-law's house in South Waziristan. On Friday, four intelligence officials said they had information that the Taleban leader had been killed in Wednesday's missile strike, but acknowledged that authorities did not have his body as proof. Intelligence officials said Taleban commanders were holding a meeting to decide a successor. Mehsud's aide Kafayat Ullah told the AP on Friday that Mehsud was killed with one of his two wives in his stronghold in South Waziristan, while on Saturday, Malik told Pakistani television there were “confirmed reports” that Mehsud was dead. He did not elaborate. Yet three Taleban fighters – Hakimullah, Qari Hussain, who is known for training suicide bombers, and Taleban spokesman Maulvi Umar – called AP reporters and insisted their leader was alive. “The reports about his death are false,” Hussain said, adding that “I will take revenge against the Pakistan government for celebrating the false news of Baitullah Mehsud's death.”
