Pakistan probes reports of Taliban leader's death

The Pakistani army said today it was investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a US drone missile strike in mid-January.

The militant leader’s death would be an important success for both Pakistan, which has been battling the Taliban, and the US, which blames Mehsud for a recent deadly bombing against the CIA in Afghanistan.

The army’s disclosure came shortly after Pakistani state television, citing unnamed “official sources,” reported that Mehsud died in Orakzai, an area in Pakistan’s north-west tribal region where he was reportedly being treated for his injuries.