Kabul: The United States administration
does not know if the leader of the Pakistani Taliban was
killed in a US bombing raid this week, a senior diplomat said
today.
Richard Holbrooke, Washington`s special representative
to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said he could not confirm if
Hakimullah Mehsud was among those killed in Thursday`s raid in
Pakistan`s lawless northwest tribal belt.
"I`ve heard every conceivable version of what has
happened and I don`t know," said Holbrooke.
The Pakistani Taliban released an audio recording
allegedly made yesterday of Mehsud denying he had been killed
in the raid, as the military investigated the reports.
Missiles fired from an unmanned US aircraft killed at
least 15 Islamist insurgents at a training camp, and security
officials said Mehsud may have been among the dead.
"If he is still alive he is one of the worst people on
earth, one of the most vicious," Holbrooke told reporters in
Kabul.
"I don`t know what his status is, we`ve heard all the
rumours and we`re just going to sit back and let it develop.
But I do want to stress how strongly we feel about this man
and this group," he said.
PTI
