The deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in a US drone strike, the militant group said in a statement Monday, as Washington continues to intensify attacks along the Afghan border region. Khalid Mehsood, deputy leader of the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, died after the pre-dawn strike in North Waziristan tribal agency on February 8, the militants said in the emailed statement. The group’s leaders have nominated Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud to take his place, the statement said, adding Mehsud has “undeterring trust” in Pakistani Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah. Much of the border with Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas is off-limits to foreign journalists, and strikes along the porous frontier are difficult to verify. Officials admit the US strategy is not without risk, and the longer it runs the more costs will accrue.

Source: Punch February 12, 2018 14:15 UTC