Sun, 10/26/2008
Islamabad - The body was discovered Sunday of a brother of local Taliban top commander Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan's north- west, officials said.
Yahya Mehsud's body was found in the Domail area of Bannu district bordering the restive tribal region where the feared militant commander is believed to be holed up with hundreds of his men.
"Yes, it is confirmed that the body is that of Mehsud's brother," a police officer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone from Bannu.
Unlike his brother, Yahya was not involved in militant activities, and was believed to have been killed by his rivals or opponents of Baitullah Mehsud."
A local intelligence officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the body was spotted beside a road in Kashu village, with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and several shells lying near it.
Authorities took the body to Bannu where it was identified by the members of Mehsud's family.
The family members later took the body to Yahya's native village of Peepal Mandi in South Waziristan tribal district close to the Afghan border.
"Family and friends are gathering in Peepal Mandi and Mehsud has also been informed about his brother's death," the intelligence officer said.
Mehsud has another brother, Abdullah Mehsud, who lost a leg after detonating a grenade to escape arrest during a police raid in Zhob district of south-western Balochistan province in July last year.
Baitullah Mehsud heads the disbanded Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organization of local militant groups fighting government forces in the country's north-western regions.
The militant commander has also been blamed for orchestrating dozens of attacks and suicide bombings on security forces and political leaders, including last year's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. dpa
