Hakimullah Meshud, the mastermind behind the terror attacks inside and outside Pakistan, is dead now. Both Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed this news on Friday. The strike was done in the region of North Waziristan and the Taliban leader was eliminated alongside four suspected militants. The Talibans confirmed that four missiles struck the compound just after Meshud's vehicle got in. However, the drone strikes have stirred up more controversies as many people view it as an infringement to the sovereignty and may kill civilians in the process and his death is a major setback in peace talks with the Pakistan Government. . The US National Counterterrorism Center describes Mehsud as "the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban." Mehsud is on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list, with a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture, and has been near the top of the CIA Counterterrorism Center's most wanted list for his role in the December 2009 suicide bombing that killed seven Americans — CIA officers and their security detail — at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan. The suicide bomber, a Jordanian double agent, was ushered into the military base to brief CIA officers on al-Qaida, and detonated his explosive vest once he'd reached the inside of the base. Pakistani Taliban leaders gathered on his funeral on Saturday. Residents of Miranshah, the capital of the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, said Pakistani Taliban fighters were converging on the town for Mehsud's funeral and firing furiously at drones buzzing high in the sky.
However, Shops and markets were open in the town. Residents said they were worried about a possible army offensive, but not Taliban reprisals. They expected the militants to launch attacks in Pakistani cities instead. The leader said two other militants had been discussed as possible leaders, one is the ruthless commander for the Swat Valley, Maulana Fazlullah, whose men shot and wounded the famous schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai last year.
However, Shops and markets were open in the town. Residents said they were worried about a possible army offensive, but not Taliban reprisals. They expected the militants to launch attacks in Pakistani cities instead. The leader said two other militants had been discussed as possible leaders, one is the ruthless commander for the Swat Valley, Maulana Fazlullah, whose men shot and wounded the famous schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai last year.
