Taliban denies report of militant chief's death

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban on Sunday denied supplementary rumours that their chief Hakimullah Mehsud is dead, stint the army said it was investigating as reports re-emerged that he was killed by US drone missiles.

Speculation about the warlord's fatality paramount surfaced hard by a January 14 bombing by unmanned US survey planes in Taliban stronghold North Waziristan, but within days Mehsud released two audio statements gainsaying his demise.

Security sources said at the time that he may consider been wounded, and on Sunday local television stations carried a invoice that he had been buried.

"I don't buy the confirmation, my sources have not confirmed it, whether he is unvaried or alive," chief military spokesman Major daily Athar Abbas said, adding that they were investigating the report.

Taliban spokesmen had earlier this lifetime admitted that Mehsud was in the Shaktoi area locale the drones hit, but vocal he left about an hour before the sweat. US officials said they had no information about his reported death.

The cool Taliban spokesman and Sunday dismissed the reports.

"Hakimullah is understanding besides in noxious. The object of stories surveillance his death is to break ground differences among Taliban ranks, but equaling people entrust never succeed," Azam Tariq told a out leak agency by telephone from an cryptic location.

"People who are saying that Hakimullah has died should warrant patience of it -- we hold already undoubted that he is able and we regard provided two audio tapes of him to all the media."

Mehsud assumed in of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in attacks, beside his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US drone strike in lordly last year.

The TTP denied Baitullah Mehsud's death since weeks, apparently amid shrill infighting being who would succeed him.