Mehsud’s death confirmed

It was the government's first categorical confirmation of the death of the feared militant, whose passing is likely to weaken, but not vanquish, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent network he led.

In a sign of the continued militant threat, a suicide bomber attacked a vehicle carrying tribal police near Pakistan's volatile border with Afghanistan, killing 19 people, including 11 policemen, said a local government official.

Reports of Mehsud's death emerged after a spate of US missiles hit his stronghold in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt in mid-January. Mehsud was said to have died of wounds suffered in one of the strikes in the Waziristan region.

In a response to an AP query, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, wrote, "Yes, he is dead." A senior intelligence official concurred separately. Neither gave details as to when or how the militant died.

In late January, a tribal elder told the Associated Press that he attended Mehsud's funeral in the Mamuzai area of the Orakzai tribal region after Mehsud died at his in-laws' home; Kazinform cites the Arab News.

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