Has Taliban leader been killed in Pakistan?

Has the notorious leader of the Pakistan Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, been killed in an American missile strike? It's the question being asked in Washington and Islamabad this morning after two Hellfire missiles fired from a US drone destroyed a remote farmhouse near the Afghan border in south Waziristan on Wednesday.

It is seems almost certain that Mehsud, Pakistan's most wanted man, was killed in the attack. White House officials said there were "strong indications" he was dead. Pakistani TV, quoting intelligence sources, said he had already been buried. Absolute proof will be hard to come by because Taliban fighters are occupying the area and preventing anyone from leaving.

One indicator that Mehsud is dead is a rumour that the Tehrik I Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the terror group he led, plans to hold a leadership council today. If it is to elect a successor, his lieutenant Hakimullah Mehsud is the favourite.

The Americans have been after Baitullah Mehsud for some time. In June, a drone was used to fire missiles at a funeral which it was thought Mehsud was attending. As reported by The First Post, 45 people died, but Mehsud escaped unhurt.

He had led the Pakistani Taliban for four years and was responsible for countless atrocities, including a suicide-bomb attack on a mosque in which 33 people died. He was accused of plotting the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, but denied the charge.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this item was posted, a White House spokesman said on August 7 that Mehsud's death could still not be confirmed, but added: "There seems to be a growing consensus among credible observers that he is indeed dead". Also, the BBC reported on August 8 that Taliban leaders had gathered in south Waziristan to choose a successor.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:Declan Walsh, the Guardian: "If confirmed, the death of Mehsud would represent a quantum leap for Pakistan's war against the rampaging Islamist militancy based in the tribal belt along the Afghan border."

Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, the New York Times: "The militant leader also seemed to take pleasure in taunting Pakistani officials and holding news conferences to demonstrate the inability of officials in Islamabad to rein in his network. Mr Mehsud pledged to attack Washington, but American officials did not take the threat seriously."

Orla Guerin, BBC News, Islamabad: "In the past month or so, both the Pakistanis and Americans have been working hard to tighten the net around [Mehsud], with US drone strikes but also with air strikes by the Pakistani authorities. If reports of his death are confirmed, this will be seen here as the elimination of a key enemy of this country and of a man who has caused the killing of hundreds of civilians." ·