U.S. Drone Strike Kills Pakistan Taliban Chief In Afghanistan

Reuters: Pakistani Taliban leader killed in air strike in Afghanistan near border

KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah has been killed in a U.S.-Afghan air strike in Afghanistan, a senior Afghan Defence Ministry official said on Friday, a killing likely to ease tension between the United States and Pakistan.

An official at the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan confirmed Fazlullah was killed on Thursday.

The U.S. military said earlier in Washington it had carried out a strike aimed at a senior militant figure in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, which is on the Pakistani border, and one U.S. official said the target was believed to have been Fazlullah.

Fazlullah was Pakistan’s most-wanted militant, notorious for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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More News On Reports That A U.S. Drone Strike Has Killed The Pakistan Taliban Chief In Afghanistan

Afghan official: US drone kills Pakistan Taliban chief -- AP
US air strike targets Pakistan Taliban chief in Afghanistan -- BBC
Pakistan Taliban leader who ordered 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala 'is killed in a U.S. airstrike' in Afghanistan -- Daily Mail
Taliban leader who ordered hit on Malala killed in US drone strike -- The Independent
Leader of Pakistani Taliban killed by U.S. drone strike, Afghanistan say -- NBC
U.S. Drone Strike Kills Leader of Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan Says -- The New York Times
Afghan Official, Pakistani Sources Say U.S. Drone Strike Kills Pakistani Taliban Chief -- RFE
Afghanistan claims US drone strike kills Pakistan Taliban leader -- CNN
Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah 'killed in drone attack' -- Al Jazeera

Drone Strike Kills Senior Pakistani Taliban Commanders

Long War Journal: U.S. Hits Pakistani Taliban Training Camp in Eastern Afghanistan

The U.S. military is reported to have struck a training camp in Afghanistan’s remote eastern province of Kunar that was run by the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) earlier today. The son of Mullah Fazlullah, the emir of the TTP, and two commanders, including the camp’s trainer of suicide bombers, are reported to have been killed.

The offensive targeted the Ghazi Camp in Kunar, which borders the Pakistani tribal agency of Bajaur, a former stronghold of the TTP, according to Dawn. The TTP is said to have confirmed the attack in a text message that was delivered to Pakistani media outlets.

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Update #1: US drone targeting Pakistani Taliban kills 21 in Afghanistan (Military Times/AP)
Update #2: Afghanistan drone strike kills 20 Pakistani Taliban, officials say (Reuters)
Update #3: Pakistani Taliban Confirms 21 Members Killed in Afghanistan by US Drone (VOA)

WNU editor: The U.S. has just put a $5 million bounty on the head of the Pakistan Taliban .... Who Is Maulana Fazlullah? US Puts $5 Million Bounty On Pakistani Taliban Leader Linked To Times Square Plot (Newsweek).

Pakistan Taliban Deputy Leader Mehsud Killed In U.S. Drone Strike

Sajna Mehsud. Image from the TTP’s statement that announced his death.

Long War Journal: Pakistani Taliban confirms US killed deputy emir in North Waziristan drone strike

The TPP announced Sajna’s death in a statement released on its official Telegram account. According to the TTP, Sajna was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal agency of North Waziristan on Feb. 8.

The TTP statement cleared up a discrepancy from the initial reporting of his death. Pakistani officials claimed that Sajna was killed in a US strike in the Bermal district in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika. However, unnamed Taliban officials stated that he was killed while traveling in a vehicle along with his nephew and two bodyguards in North Waziristan.

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More News On The Pakistan Taliban Confirming That Their Deputy Leader Mehsud Has Been Killed In A U.S. Drone Strike

Pakistani Taliban deputy Khalid Mehsud 'killed in drone attack' -- BBC
Pakistani Taliban confirm deputy killed by drone, appoint new one -- Reuters
Pakistani Taliban deputy is 'killed in a US drone strike' near the border with Afghanistan -- Daily Mail
Pakistani Taliban Confirms American Drone Killed Deputy Chief -- VOA
Pakistani Taliban Confirms Deputy Chief Killed In Drone Strike -- Radio Free Europe
Taliban deputy leader Mehsud killed in U.S. drone strike -- UPI

Taliban Claim That They Downed The Pakistan Helicopter That Was Carrying Foreign Diplomats

Long War Journal: Taliban claims it shot down Pakistani helicopter, displays SAM-7

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan claimed it shot down a Pakistani Army helicopter that was transporting foreign diplomats in the northern part of the country yesterday, and released a video showing its fighters training on a SAM-7 anti-aircraft missile to support its claim. The Pakistani government has vehemently denied the aircraft was shot down, and has stated that it crashed due to engine failure.

The Pakistani Army Mi-17 was part of a convoy of three helicopters that were transporting foreign diplomatic personnel to the opening of a ski resort in the Naltar Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan. Seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines, the wives of the ambassador of Indonesia and the High Commissioner of Malaysia, the two Army helicopter pilots, and a crew member were killed in the crash. Several other foreign dignitaries were injured in the crash.

More News On Taliban Claims That They Downed The Pakistan Helicopter That Was Carrying Foreign Diplomats

Video: Taliban downed Pakistan helicopter carrying diplomats -- AP
Taliban release video which they claim proves they shot down Pakistani helicopter and killed foreign diplomats -- Daily Mail
Pakistan Taliban releases video of SAM-7; warns of more such attacks -- Indian Express
Taliban Releases Video of Missile Launcher It Says was Used to Shoot Down Pak Army Chopper -- NDTV
Taliban Missile Allegedly Downed Pakistan Helicopter With Foreigners Aboard -- Sputnik

Pakistan's Taliban Claim To Have Developed Their Own Missile

IBTimes: Pakistani Taliban successfully test-fires indigenous missile

Pakistan-based Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) has claimed it has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed missile named Omar-1.

The militant organisation, better known to the outside world as Pakistani Taliban, has issued a detailed statement along with a video demonstrating the missile's assembly and its successful launch.

"It can be easily assembled and dissembled in accordance to the situation," TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurassani said hailing the design of the Omar-1 missile system.

WNU Editor: The video for this missile test is here.

More News On Pakistan's Taliban Claiming To Have Developed Their Own Missile

Pakistani Taliban Сlaims Successful Test-Fire of Omar-1 Missile - Reports -- Sputnik
Taliban in Pakistan successfully test-fires indigenous missile -- Khaama Press
Tehrik-e-Taliban test fires its missile Omar-1 -- One India
Pakistani Taliban claim to have successfully test-fired missile called ‘Omar-1’ -- Times of India

The War Against The Taliban In Pakistan Intensifies

FOX News/AP: Pakistan strikes kill 31 militants, drone kills 7

WNU Editor: After the Pakistan school massacre .... the Pak Army had to respond. I expect this fight to escalate when winter in Pakistan's mountains are over. I also expect more U.S. drone strikes.

More News On The War Against the Taliban In Pakistan

Pakistan Taliban: US drone 'kills militants' in tribal region -- BBC
Drone strike kills six suspected militants northwest Pakistan -- Reuters
U.S. Drone Strike Said to Kill Militants in Pakistan -- NYT
US drone 'kills militants' in Pakistan -- DW
First 2015 US Drone Strike Kills 7 Militants in Pakistan: Reports -- Sputnik
Pakistan: US Drone Kills 7 Militants -- VOA
Pakistan Army Airstrikes Kill 31 Militants -- VOA
Militants Hit in Northwest Airstrikes -- Newsweek Pakistan
Airstrikes kill 39 militants in Pakistan -- Herald Sun

U.S. Conducts Drone Strikes In Pakistan. 'Mastermind' Behind Attack On Pakistan School Killed In Shootout

As Pakistan Considers Counter-Terrorism Strategy, More Airstrikes Kill Militants -- Washington Post

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two suspected U.S. drone strikes in northwestern Pakistan killed at least eight militants on Friday, and Pakistani forces also killed a Taliban commander who helped carry out last week’s school massacre in Peshawar.

According to Pakistani intelligence officials, a U.S. drone fired two missiles into a compound in North Waziristan used by militants from the Punjabi Taliban. The group is an offshoot of the Pakistan Taliban and has been known to carry out attacks in Pakistan as well as in neighboring Afghanistan.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said five militants were killed in the attack.

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More News On Today's US Drone Strikes And Pakistani Military Strikes On Taliban Militants

US Drone Strikes Kill 30 Militants in Pakistan -- VOA
Two U.S. drone strikes kill seven militants in Pakistan -- Reuters
2 Drone Strikes in Pakistan Are Said to Kill 9 Militant Suspects -- NYT
Two Drone Strikes in Pakistan Kill Militants -- The Atlantic
Pakistani officials: Suspected U.S. drone strikes kill eight -- UPI
3 Uzbeks among 7 militants killed in US drone attack in North Waziristan -- Daily Times
23 militants killed in army air raid in NW Pakistan -- Global Post/Xinhua
Planner of Pakistan school massacre reported killed -- UPI
Security forces kill school massacre planner in Pakistan shootout -- FOX News
Pakistani Forces Kill Suspected Mastermind Behind Peshawar School Massacre -- Vice News
US gives Pakistan a free pass — and $1 billion — by ignoring LeT, LeJ -- Times of India

Pakistan Plans To Execute 55 Convicted Taliban Militants In The Coming Days, 500 Later

A supporter of political party Pakistan Awami Tehreek, holds a sign with others to condemn the attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School in Peshawar, during a rally in Lahore, December 21, 2014. Taliban gunmen broke into the school and opened fire on Tuesday, killing 132 students and nine staff members, witnesses said, in the bloodiest massacre the country has seen for years. Reuters/Mohsin Raza

Pakistan Likely To Execute Dozens Of Convicts -- Al Jazeera

At least 55 fighters on death-row likely to be executed soon, amid public anger over Taliban attack on Peshawar school.

Pakistan plans to execute 55 people in the coming days, after their mercy petitions were recently rejected by the country's president Mamnoon Hussain, reports say.

Six fighters have been hanged since a Taliban attack on an army-run school in the city of Peshawar last week left 149 people, mostly children, dead, triggering public anger.

Of the six hanged so far, five were involved in a failed attempt to assassinate the then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003, while one was involved in a 2009 attack on army headquarters, AFP news agency reported on Monday.

After the school attack, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for "terrorism-related" cases.

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More News On Pakistan Planning To Execute Hundreds Of Convicted Taliban Militants

Pakistan say they will execute 500 convicted militants as police arrest six men and a woman who 'helped facilitate' the Taliban strike that claimed 133 children's lives -- Daily Mail
Pakistan death row inmates face imminent execution -- BBC
Pakistan to execute 500 militants soon -- AFP
Pakistan to execute 500 Islamist terrorists after Taliban school attack -- The Telegraph
Pakistan to execute 500 militants in light of Peshawar massacre -- Washington Times
Pakistan to execute 500 convicted terrorists 'within weeks' -- RT
Pakistan: Plans to execute 500 more prisoners ‘deeply disturbing’ -- Amnesty International

The Taliban - Pakistan Conflict Is Going To Get Worse

Pakistan’s War With The Taliban May Be About To Get Worse -- Naina Bajekal, Time

It's not clear if the massacre of at least 132 school children means the Taliban has weakened or remains strong

The Taliban’s attack on a Peshawar school that left at least 132 school children and nine members of staff dead on Tuesday was described by Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the daughter of the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as “the biggest human tragedy Pakistan may have ever seen”.

The massacre follows a relative lull in violence in Pakistan since the attack on the country’s biggest airport on June 9, in which 36 people were killed, including ten gunmen. The Pakistani government responded by launching a military offensive against Taliban strongholds in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan which borders Afghanistan.

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My Comment: Today's attack reminded me of the Beslan school massacre of 2004, but unlike that attack which resulted in the lost of support for the extremists in the Caucasus, today's attack in Pakistan will only intensify the bitter struggle between the Pakistan government and Taliban militants. Too much blood has been spent, and the Taliban are now signalling that they are going to increase their terror campaign to a level that has never been seen in Pakistan. My prediction .... the blow-back is going to be intense.

Pakistan's Offensive Against The Taliban Is Taking A Heavy Toll

This picture shows Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif being shown different weapons and equipment recovered from terrorists in Miramshah. — Photo: ISPR

Pakistani Army: 1,200 Militants Killed During Five-Month Offensive -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The Pakistani army has killed 1,200 suspected militants in an anti-Taliban offensive during the past five months, seriously reducing the group's ability to carry out attacks, senior officers said on Sunday during a rare trip to the conflict zone.

The ongoing operation has targeted the militant stronghold in North Waziristan, a mountainous region that borders Afghanistan and has acted as a staging post for deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The offensive was launched as Western forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan.

In the center of Mir Ali, the second largest town in the region, there was hardly a building untouched by the fighting.

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More News On Pakistan's War Against The Taliban

Pakistan Anti-Terror Campaign Continues -- VOA
'Dozens dead' in Pakistan military operation -- Al Jazeera
Pakistan Says Air Strikes Kill 30 Militants In Northwest -- Radio Free Europe
Pakistan Airstrikes Kill 30 Militants in Northwest -- AP
27 militants, 5 soldiers killed in Pakistan -- Times of India
Four Pakistani soldiers dead, eight missing after checkpoint attack -- Reuters
Three soldiers, 34 militants killed in northwest Pakistan -- AFP
Most of North Waziristan cleared of terrorists: Pakistan -- Business Standard
90% of North Waziristan cleared of terrorists: Maj Gen Zafar -- Daily Times
Pakistan denies Pentagon charge it's soft on terrorism -- McClatchy News
Local support for dreaded Islamic State growing in Pakistan: Report -- Times of India

Pakistan's Taliban Leaders Pledge Allegiance To The Islamic State

TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid. PHOTO: INP

Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge Allegiance to Islamic State -- Wall Street Journal

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—Six senior members of the Pakistani Taliban, including prominent regional leaders, Tuesday pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and its head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a potentially explosive rift within militant circles here that could lead to new violence.

“I pledge allegiance to the Caliph of Muslims…Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” said the spokesman Shahidullah Shahid. “I will listen to and obey his every order, even if the situation is difficult, whether I like the order or not.”

Mr. Shahid added that the six men didn’t represent the Pakistani Taliban, which remains in allegiance to Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Afghan Taliban.

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More News On Pakistan's Taliban Leaders Pledging Allegiance To The Islamic State

Pakistan Taliban pledges allegiance to Isil -- The Telegraph
Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge Support to Islamic State -- Bloomberg
Pakistan Taliban leaders switch to Islamic State -- UPI
Six Pakistan Taliban Leaders Swear Allegiance to ISIS: Spokesman -- NBC
Isis News: Six Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge Allegiance to Islamic State -- IBTimes
Six Taliban commanders swear allegiance to IS -- Pakistan Today
Top Pakistani Taliban commanders announces loyalty to ISIS -- Khaama Press
TTP spokesperson, five other leaders declare allegiance to Islamic State -- Express Tribune

Taliban Call-Off Their Ceasefire In Pakistan

Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who says next round of talk with Taliban will take place in days, speaks during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 13, 2014.

Pakistani Taliban End Ceasefire -- Voice of America

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Islamist militants in Pakistan, referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, have formally ended a 40-day cease-fire that they called to engage in peace talks with the government. The move has raised fears of renewed suicide bombings and terrorist attacks in the country.

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan -- a loose alliance of militant outfits -- began observing the cease-fire on March 1. It expired about a week ago.

The ceasefire led to a reduction in militant violence in the country and facilitated one round of direct talks between government negotiators and Taliban leaders.

Moreover, authorities recently claimed to have released a group of low-level non-combatant Taliban prisoners to further the peace process.

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More News On The Taliban Calling-Off Their Ceasefire In Pakistan

Pakistan Taliban announce end to ceasefire -- BBC
Pakistan Taliban end cease-fire, setting back peace prospects -- Bloomberg
Pakistani Taliban calls an end to ceasefire, but says talks with government to continue -- FOX News/AP
Taliban End a Cease-Fire With Pakistan -- New York Times
Peace talks cannot succeed without ceasefire: TTP negotiator -- Indian Express

Pakistan Government And The Taliban Resume Peace Talks

FILE- Maulana Sami ul-Haq (R), one of the Taliban negotiators, and Irfan Siddiqui, a government negotiator, discuss a joint statement before a news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 6, 2014. VOA

Pakistan, Taliban Talks Enter Decisive Stage -- Voice of America

ISLAMABAD — Despite ongoing attacks, Pakistan government representatives met Wednesday with Taliban representatives to try to restart stalled peace talks aimed at ending the country's bloody insurgency.

Just hours after a roadside bomb attack on a military convoy killed six soldiers, Pakistani government and Taliban representatives said the high-stakes peace talks between them had entered a decisive stage.

Government representative Irfan Siddiqui said the time had come for negotiators on both sides to make major decisions on how to move the peace process forward.

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More News On The Pakistan Government And The Taliban Resuming Peace Talks

Pakistan Resumes Taliban Talks as 6 Soldiers Die -- AP
Pakistan government-Taliban hold talks to charter course -- The Hindu
Pakistan resumes Taliban talks despite deadly blast -- Times of India/AFP
Pakistan Talks With Taliban Resume Despite Deadly Attacks -- Radio Free Europe
Pakistan, Taliban talks move ahead -- iol News
Roadside bomb kills 6 Pakistani soldiers as violence spirals -- Reuters
Pakistan Hangu soldiers killed as talks due to resume -- BBC
Dismay at Pakistan's Acceptance of Taliban Cease-fire -- Defense News
Fearing and fleeing in Pakistan -- Al Jazeera

Pakistan Government And Taliban Agree To A Ceasefire

Government Reciprocates Taliban Ceasefire -- International News

ISLAMABAD: The government has formally announced to stop surgical strikes against militants, reciprocating Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) declaration of a month-long ceasefire to resume peace talks.

In a statement issued by the Interior Ministry, the decision was taken after Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan held consultations with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.

The statement noted that the government had responded positively to Taliban offer. However, it reserved the right to respond to any violent activity carried out by the banned outfit.

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My Comment: This announcement comes only a day after the Taliban announced their own ceasefire. Everyone may be talking of peace .... but the bombs are still dropping .... and the unrest is growing. As to what is my take .... these peace talks and the ceasefire itself will unravel in the next week or two.

Pakistan Government And The Taliban Hold Official Peace Talks

Pakistani Government, Taliban Hold Landmark Talks -- Voice of America

The talks were to have taken place this past Tuesday but were postponed after the government sought clarification on who was on the Taliban negotiating team. Thursday's meeting, which lasted some three hours, was aimed at charting a roadmap for future peace talks to end the militants' bloody insurgency.

In a joint statement afterwards, the Taliban's chief negotiator, Maulana Sami-ul Haq, said he agreed with the government's position that both sides should avoid any steps that can disrupt the peace process.

"It is necessary for the success of the talks that all activities against peace and security should be ended," said Sami-ul Haq.

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More News On The Pakistan Government And The Taliban Holding Official Peace Talks

Cordial and Friendly’ Session as Pakistan and Taliban Open Talks -- New York Times/AP
Pakistan, Taliban agree on truce call -- The Australian/AFP
Pakistan begins official peace talks with the Taliban -- Euronews
Pakistan, Taliban negotiators meet for peace talks -- UPI
Pakistan, Taliban Weigh Peace Talks -- Wall Street Journal
Khan Sees Pakistani Taliban Talks Failing as Strike Looms -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Are Pakistan's talks with the Taliban bound to fail? -- Deutsche Welle

Update: It looks like these talks are already falling apart .... Pakistan Taliban negotiator pulls out of talks -- Global Post/AFP

Preliminary Pakistan-Taliban Peace Talks Delayed

Preliminary Peace Talks With Pakistani Taliban Postponed -- Radio Free Europe

A meeting has been delayed between the Pakistani government and Pakistani Taliban to discuss the possible launch of peace talks.

Reports say the meeting in Islamabad, scheduled for February 4, was postponed by the government.

Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan representative Maulana Sami-ul-Haq said that the delay shows that the government isn't serious about negotiations.

The meeting was intended to be a preliminary discussion about the holding of negotiations to end years of violence linked to the Pakistani Taliban insurgency, which began in 2007.

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More News On The Preliminary Pakistan-Taliban Peace Talks Being Delayed

Pakistan peace talks with Taliban are delayed -- BBC
Pakistan peace talks with Taliban team delayed after government negotiators fail to show up -- FOX News/AP
Pakistan-Taliban peace talks falter -- AFP
First meeting in Pakistani talks with Taliban cancelled -- The Guardian
Taliban criticize Pakistan peace talks delay -- Blouin News
Pakistan: Taliban criticise peace talks delay -- BBC
Confusion, doubt as Pakistan tries to talk to Taliban militants -- Global Post/Reuters
Pakistan press sceptical about Taliban talks -- BBC
Pakistan Taliban talks delayed. What does each side want? -- Umar Farooq, Christian Science Monitor
Analysts say peace with Pakistan Taliban unlikely -- Tim Craig; Washington Post/Gulf News
Why talks with the Pakistan Taliban may never succeed -- BBC

Pakistan Being Put On A "War Footing" To Battle The Taliban

Image from the BBC

Pakistan 'On War Footing To Smash Taliban' -- The Guardian

Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah promises military strikes and dismisses human rights fears over anti-terror laws

Pakistan is being put on a "war footing" to counter a surge in terrorism, according to a senior leader in the ruling party who promised military strikes against the Taliban and brushed aside human rights fears about draconian new anti-terror laws.

Rana Sanaullah, the law minister of Punjab province and one of the prime minister's closest confidants, told the Guardian the time had finally come to "smash" militant safe havens.

A spike in Taliban-led violence has prompted a dramatic rethink in policy from a government long determined to avoid a confrontation with the country's militant groups.

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Update: Thousands of Pakistanis flee tribal belt fearing more air strikes -- Reuters

My Comment: So much for attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. More to the point .... the Pakistan government now realizes that after suspending counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban 8 months ago .... the Taliban just used the opportunity to strengthen their forces.

Pakistan's Terror Groups May Be Proliferating Faster Than Drones Can Take Them Out.

Drone strike casualty estimates as of November 18, 2013. (Courtesy New America Foundation) .

The Taliban’s Hydras -- Bill Roggio, The Daily Beast

A drone strike killed another top leader of the influential, al Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani network—but the terror group may be proliferating faster than drones can take them out.

Yesterday's drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern district of Hangu that killed a top Haqqani Network leader is a major tactical win for the U.S., but in the absence of a comprehensive strategy to deal with al Qaeda-linked jihadist groups in the region, it will serve only to disrupt the organization in the short term.

The CIA-operated Reapers killed Maulvi Ahmed Jan, a top deputy in the al Qaeda-allied Haqqani Network, and two other commanders in an airstrike on a seminary in the settled district of Hangu. The hit was remarkable because U.S. drones rarely stray outside of the designated kill boxes of Pakistan's tribal areas, particularly the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan, where a host of jihadist groups operate unfettered. Of the 352 strikes recorded by The Long War Journal since the drone program began, 95 percent have taken place in the two tribal agencies. Only four of the remaining strikes occurred outside of the tribal areas; the last was in March 2009.

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My Comment: For a better understanding on the many terror groups that make Pakistan their home .... the Council on Foreign relations has a good summary here.

The Taliban In Pakistan Pick Mullah Fazlullah As Their New Leader

The Pakistani Taliban's new leader Mullah Fazlullah (file photo)

Pakistani Taliban Elects New Leader, Rejects Peace Talks -- Voice of America

The Pakistani Taliban has rejected peace talks with the Pakistani government after choosing a hard line cleric as its leader following the death of the previous leader in a drone strike.

Maulana Fazlullah, elected Thursday by the Taliban ruling council, had led the militant group's brutal rule in Pakistan's northwest Swat valley in 2008-2009 before a military operation retook the area.

The choice of Fazlullah has dampened hopes of any peace process between the Pakistani Taliban and the government of Pakistan.

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More News On

Pakistani Taliban name Mullah Fazlullah as new emir -- Long War Journal
Pakistani Taliban choose man who planned Malala Yousafzai attack as new leader -- FOX News/AP
Cleric 'linked to Malala attack' to lead Pakistan Taliban -- AFP
Commander linked to Malala attack in running to be next Pakistani Taliban leader: source -- NBC
Pakistan Taliban pick new leader, spokesman says -- CNN
Pakistani Taliban chose Malala plotter as new leader -- Washington Times
Pakistan Taliban scrap peace talks after electing new chief Mullah Fazlullah -- Euronews
Pakistani Taliban Picks Mullah Fazlullah As New Leader -- Radio Free Europe
Pakistani Taliban’s New Leader Planned Attack on Teenage Activist -- New York Times
Pakistani Taliban Names New Chief -- Wall Street Journal
Profile: Mullah Fazlullah -- BBC

Pakistan Government: Death Of Taliban Leader Will Not Delay Peace Talks

Minister: Death Of Pakistan Taliban Leader Won't Delay Peace Talks -- CNN

(CNN) -- The death of Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud will not delay peace talks between Pakistan's government and the militant group, Information Minister Pervez Rasheed said Saturday.

Mehsud -- who had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head for his alleged involvement in a deadly 2009 attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan -- was killed in a drone strike in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, senior U.S. and Pakistani officials told CNN.

Rasheed condemned the use of drones in Pakistan. "Drones are used for killing but they will not let the peace process be killed with it," the minister told reporters.

Mehsud was buried, though the body was unrecognizable, Taliban sources said. The organization was scheduled to meet Saturday to pick a new leader, the sources said.

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My Comment: Others are not that optimistic on these peace talks getting anywhere right now. As to what is my take .... the Taliban will now be focused on revenge.