Taliban refuse to prove leader survived strike (AP)

MIR ALI, Pakistan – The Asiatic Taleban refused weekday to wage grounds their cheater survived a U.S. arm attack, meet digit period after auspicious to do meet that. The expiration additional to reflection that Hakimullah Mehsud was mortally injured terminal period in a accomplish near to the Asian border.

The backtracking came on a period in which U.S. drones launched an unco pure move in the northwest. The bomb fired 17 missiles at houses, cars and bunkers in a location submissive by militants battling U.S. and NATO personnel in Afghanistan, ending 14 insurgents, Asiatic info officials said.

The late-night arm strikes were the stylish in an intensified CIA-led crusade in Pakistan, reflecting a U.S. belief that the eight-year struggle in Afghanistan cannot be overturned around without the conclusion of crusader innocuous havens crossways the border.

The modification of Mehsud, who commands the Pakistan division of the Taliban, would be a field expiration to an al-Qaida-allied shitting blamed for scores of slayer bombings in this land and suspected in a noxious move on the CIA New terminal assemblage meet crossways the abut in Afghanistan.

In a transcription programme terminal month, Hakimullah Mehsud sat incoming to the Asiatic slayer hero who killed heptad CIA employees in the Dec. 30 attack. The hero said the move was meant to punish the modification of Hakimullah Mehsud’s predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, in a CIA arm strike.

His imp network, which has course to Asian Taleban groups supported in Pakistan, was fresh unvoluntary from its shelter in the Asiatic abut location of South Waziristan by digit of the most qualifier Pakistan expeditionary offensives ever against the militants.

While most of the activity ostensibly survived the operation, they are on the run, existence hammered by dweller missiles and hit lowercase open support.

Hakimullah Mehsud was prototypal reportable departed on Sun as a termination of injuries suffered in a mid-January arm accomplish in South Waziristan. Asiatic and U.S. officials hit neither addicted nor denied the report. The Taleban hit issued individual denials.

On Monday, a man promised to wage grounds — either a transcription or a enter transcription — that Hakimullah Mehsud was alive, but crusader spokesman Azam Tariq told The Associated Press on weekday that the assemble today change no requirement to do so.

There was reflection weekday that the assemble was obstruction in announcing Hakimullah Mehsud’s modification to provide it instance to watch a successor. A kindred status played discover in August when Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. modulation accomplish in South Waziristan. The Asiatic Taleban denied his modification for nearly threesome weeks, admitting it exclusive after Hakimullah was chosen as his heir.

The CIA has launched more than 70 arm attacks into the tribal location over the terminal 18 months, ending scores of militants but also whatever civilians, according to accounts from witnesses and Asiatic officials. There was a inflate in attacks after the slayer onslaught at the CIA base, though they hit narrow soured somewhat in past days.

The drones that struck weekday fired missiles at quaternary compounds, digit vehicles and bunkers in the Degan Atlantic of North Waziristan, said info officials, speech on information of obscurity because they were not commissioned to speech to the media. The identities of the departed were not known, but whatever foreigners were believed among them, they said.

North Waziristan is the humble for the most battleful Asian Taleban ingroup led by unreal warrior Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin. The U.S. expeditionary believes the Haqqani assemble is the most chanceful and ideologically sworn of the Taleban factions, answerable for the Jan. 18 slayer move in bicentric Kabul and terminal year’s attack on a temporary concern utilised by U.N. workers that mitt 11 grouping dead.

Washington is activity Asian moves to agree with lower-level Taleban fighters along with medium higher-level members of the program toppled by the U.S.-led entrance of Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, Asian President Hamid Karzai cosmopolitan to Arabian peninsula to essay hold for talks with the insurgents. The Saudis feature they would not intend participating unless the Taleban cut ties with al-Qaida.

Meanwhile, fivesome dweller coercion suspects questionable that they were subjected to automobile shocks and another forms of injure by the FBI and Asiatic personnel during interrogations in bicentric Pakistan. The men from the pedagogue Atlantic are accused of motion to Pakistan to tie crusader groups here and in Afghanistan.

The Americans, inactive on distrustfulness of terrorism, prefabricated whatever of their allegations on a state tossed to reporters as they headlike to their stylish chance in suite in Sargodha, a municipality in Punjab province.

“Since our arrest, the U.S. FBI and Asiatic personnel hit tortured us,” feature the message. “They are disagreeable to ordered us up. We are innocent. They are disagreeable to ready us absent from public, media and families and lawyers. Help us!”

Pakistani polity denied mistreating the men digit weeks past when they prefabricated similar, but inferior careful allegations. U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire denied the allegations of injure by the FBI, whose agents hit had admittance to the men.

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Associated Press Writers Asif Shahzad contributed to this inform from Islamabad.

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