Baitullah Mehsud Baitullah Mehsud ( ; ; c . 1974 – 5 August 2009 ) was a leading militant in Waziristan , Pakistan , and the leader of the Tehrik - i - Taliban Pakistan ( TTP ) . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007 . He is thought by U . S . military analysts to have commanded up to 5 , 000 fighters and to have been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto which he and others have denied . Disagreement exists over the exact date of the militant ' s death . Pakistani security officials initially announced that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife were killed on 5 August 2009 in a U . S . Central Intelligence Agency drone attack in the Zangar area of South Waziristan . Interior Minister Rehman Malik delayed giving official confirmation and asked for patience and an announcement by Inter Services Public Relations ( ISPR ) or other agencies . Kafayat Ullah , a TTP source , also announced the death of the militant in the strike , as did his deputy Faqir Mohammed . Later Tehrik - i - Taliban Pakistan commander Hakimullah Mehsud denied previous TTP announcements and said Mehsud was in good health . Major General Athar Abbas , ISPR spokesman , and Robert Gibbs of the White House said his death could not be confirmed , U . S . National Security Adviser James L . Jones also claimed that there was " pretty conclusive " evidence that proved Baitullah Mehsud had been killed and that he was 90 % sure of it . On 23 August 2009 , Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali - ur - Rehman telephoned the BBC to say that the Baitullah Mehsud had died on August 23 , 2009 , due to injuries sustained during the August 5 attack . On 30 September 2009 , the BBC received a video that showed the body of Mehsud . Syed Saleem Shahzad , writing in the " Asia Times " , described Baitullah Mehsud as a physically small man , with diabetes . Background . Early life . Baitullah Mehsud was born in the early 1970s in Landi Dhok village in the Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan , which lies some distance from the Mehsud tribe ' s base in the South Waziristan Agency . An ethnic Pashtun , he hailed from the Broomi Khel side of the Shabi Khel sub - clan of the Mehsud tribe , and was one of five brothers . He avoided media attention and refused to be photographed in adherence with his religious beliefs . He never finished formal schooling although he has received some instruction in a madrassa . As a young madrassa student , Baitullah would often travel into Afghanistan to assist the Taliban in its implementation of Sharia . He emerged as a major tribal leader soon after the 2004 death of Nek Mohammad . In a ceremony attended by five leading Taliban commanders , including Mullah Dadullah , Baitullah was appointed Mullah Omar ' s governor of the Mehsud area . Leadership dispute . After Nek Muhammad ' s death , Abdullah Mehsud and Baitullah Mehsud both vied for dominance of the Pakistani Taliban . When Abdullah died in a raid by Pakistani security forces and later his successor perished in a bomb explosion , Qari Zain and other members of Abdullah ' s faction suspected that Baitullah played a role in the attacks . The rivalry continued after Zainuddin obtained leadership of Abdullah ' s group . Relationship with Abdullah Mehsud . Abdullah Mehsud , a Taliban leader who was among the first captives set free from Guantanamo , has been described as Baitullah ' s brother . Other sources have asserted that they were clansmen or merely associates . " Islam Online " reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent . 2005 ceasefire agreement . Mehsud entered into a ceasefire with Pakistani authorities on 8 February 2005 . During the meeting at Sara rogha , the Pakistani military agreed to withdraw its troops from areas under Baitullah ' s control . The removal did not include the paramilitary Frontier Corps , consisting mostly of fellow Pashtuns . In exchange , Baitullah ' s followers would not attack government officials , impede development projects or allow foreign militants to operate within their territory . Mehsud was offered US $ 20 million for his cooperation in the ceasefire . He declined the money and told Pakistani authorities that they should use the pay - out to " compensate families who had suffered during the military operation " . The ceasefire agreement ended in July 2005 when after accusing the government of reneging on the deal , Baitullah resumed attacks on security forces . 2006 – 2007 . By 2006 , Baitullah Mehsud ' s growing influence in South Waziristan led terrorism analysts to label him as " South Waziristan ' s Unofficial Amir " . An official in Frontier Constabulary described his army : In June 2006 Taliban - aligned Waziri tribes began negotiating another ceasefire with Pakistani forces . In a January 2007 interview with the BBC Urdu Service , Baitullah extolled the virtues of jihad against foreigners and advocated taking the fight to the U . S . and to Britain . After the siege of Lal Masjid in July Baitullah turned his forces against the Pakistani state . In December 2007 , Mehsud was declared the first leader of the Tehrik - i - Taliban Pakistan . 2008 ceasefire . In February 2008 , Mehsud announced that he had agreed to another ceasefire with the government of Pakistan although the Pakistani military claimed that operations against Mehsud ' s forces continued . " The New York Times " , however , reported that anonymous high - level officials in the Pakistani government confirmed the deal . In April Baitullah circulated a pamphlet that ordered his followers not to undertake any attacks inside Pakistan due to ongoing peace talks . In July 2008 , Baitullah issued a statement that threatened to take action against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government if it did not step down within five days . The NWFP parliamentary leaders promptly refused . Rumors of death in September 2008 . Various news media sources reported the death of Baitullah Mehsud on 30 September 2008 at the age of 34 due to kidney failure . Many of his close associates , including his aide , his doctor and a Taliban spokesman , vehemently denied the rumors . According to the spokesman , Mehsud was " fit and well . " Mehsud ' s doctor also said he had spoken with him after the rumors of his death . The rumors proved to be false . Second marriage . Mehsud entered a second marriage in November 2008 . Mehsud ' s first wife bore his four daughters and he may have hoped his second wife , " the daughter of an influential cleric , " Ikramuddin Mehsud , would bear him a son . Leadership dispute continues . In February 2009 , senior Taliban leaders Baitullah Mehsud , Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir put aside their differences in an effort to refocus against a common enemy . Nazir had previously feuded with Baitullah for his sheltering of Uzbek militants whom Nazir had fought to evict from South Waziristan . As a result of the February agreement , Maulvi Nazir ended support for Qari Zainuddin Mehsud , who the " Daily Times " described as the " self - appointed successor of . . . Abdullah Mehsud . " Zainuddin ' s group then allied with a group led by another militant , Turkestan Bhittani . On 27 March 2009 , Pakistan ' s " Daily Times " reported that Baitullah Mehsud ' s group was engaged in a dispute with Qari Zainuddin ' s group for control of South Waziristan . Both groups had distributed pamphlets leveling accusations against the other groups ' leader . Qari Zainuddin stated that Baitullah ' s group was not practicing jihad because Islam forbids suicide attacks . Baitullah ' s pamphlet claimed that the slain Abdullah had been a government puppet and Qari Zainuddin was a traitor to Islam and to the Mehsud tribe . The rivalry culminated on 23 June 2009 , when a gunman shot and killed Zainuddin in Dera Ismail Khan . The gunman had served as one of his bodyguards and after the incident was suspected to be Baitullah ' s agent . Bounties . On 28 June 2009 the Pakistani government announced a reward of Rs . 50 , 000 , 000 for information that leads to the capture , dead or alive , of Baitullah . The bounty coincided with a previous offer from the United States , which offered $ 5 , 000 , 000 . Death in August 2009 . On the night of August 5 , 2009 , while he was staying with his second wife at his father - in - law ' s house , a U . S . drone attacked the premises . According to " The Times " , it may have been his desire to father a son that ultimately led to his demise . Two of his followers , Maulana Meraj and Hakimullah Mehsud , denied the report the following day , dismissing it as " rumors " intended to negatively impact the Taliban ' s spread of jihad . They suggested that Baitullah had gone into hiding and isolation as a part of a strategy . Hakimullah added that meetings of Taliban officials in Dir and surroundings are proceeding as usual " to make worth of their abilities and to discuss other plans which he called ' war game plans ' . " These reports were followed by several telephone conversations between Associated reporters with Qari Hussain , Maulvi Omar and Hakimullah Mehsud to deny Baitullah ' s death and to claim he had been ill , perhaps gravely , for several months or had been " busy on the battlefield . " Hakimullah indicated that soon a videotape would be released as a proof of his statements . After his capture on August 18 , Maulvi Omar retracted his previous statements and confirmed that Baitullah had indeed perished in the missile strike . On August 20 , U . S . President Barack Obama stated " We took out [ Baitullah ] Mehsud " in a radio address . On August 25 , both Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali - ur - Rehman confirmed to BBC and AP correspondents that Baitullah had indeed perished on 23 August from injuries sustained in the missile strike . The attack is part of the U . S . Central Intelligence Agency ' s ( CIA ) campaign using unmanned aerial vehicles in the region by the agency ' s Special Activities Division . U . S . missile strikes targeting Mehsud territory in South Waziristan became more common after June 2009 when Pakistan , while having been publicly critical of the missile strikes , declared a military offensive against Mehsud . Notable incidents attributed to Baitullah Mehsud . A September 2007 report from the United Nations attributed almost 80 % of suicide bombings in Pakistan to Baitullah . Pakistani officials traced an estimated 90 % of suicide and militant attacks within Pakistan throughout the 2007 – 2009 period to his South Waziristan stronghold . September 2007 Rawalpindi bombings . Preliminary investigations concerning the September 2007 bombings in Rawalpindi note that Mehsud is the primary suspect behind the attacks . A 18 December 2005 report stated that Baitullah Mehsud , Abdullah Mehsud and Yaldeshev were the subject of a man - hunt . Authorities said they believed that the militants were short of ammunition and would be captured soon . Benazir Bhutto assassination . On 28 December 2007 the Pakistan government claimed that it had strong evidence regarding Baitullah Mehsud as the man behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on 27 December 2007 . The Pakistani government released a transcript it asserted was from a conversation between Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Sahib ( literally " Mr . Cleric " ) . According to the transcript Maulvi Sahib claimed credit for the attack , Baitullah Mehsud asked who carried it out , and was told , " There were Saeed , the second was Badarwala Bilal and Ikramullah was also there . " The translation released from Agence France Presse differed slightly from the translation from the Associated Press . According to the transcripts Baitullah Mehsud says he is at , " Anwar Shah ' s house " , in Makeen or Makin . The Agence France Presse transcript identifies Makeen as a town in South Waziristan . Subsequently , both Agence France Presse and NDTV released an official denial by Mehsud ' s spokesman in which he said that Mehsud had no involvement in the attack , that the transcript was " a drama " , that it would have been " impossible " for militants to penetrate the security cordon around Bhutto , and that her death was a " tragedy " which had left Mehsud " shocked " . Mehsud ' s spokesman was quoted as saying : " I strongly deny it . Tribal people have their own customs . We don ' t strike women . " In an address to the nation on 2 January 2008 , Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that he believed Maulana Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud were prime suspects in the assassination of Bhutto . On 18 January 2008 , " The Washington Post " reported that the CIA has concluded that Mehsud was behind the Bhutto assassination . " Offering the most definitive public assessment by a U . S . intelligence official , Michael V . Hayden said Bhutto was killed by fighters allied with Mehsud , a tribal leader in northwestern Pakistan , with support from al - Qaeda ' s terrorist network . " U . S . President George W . Bush then placed Mr . Mehsud on " a classified list of militant leaders whom the C . I . A . and American commandos were authorized to capture or kill . " March 2009 Lahore police academy attack . In telephone interviews with news media Mehsud claimed responsibility for the 30 March 2009 attack on the police training academy in Lahore . He told the BBC that the attack was in retaliation for continued missile strikes from American drones for which the Pakistani government shared responsibility . In the same interview Mehsud claimed two other attacks : a March 25 attack on an Islamabad police station and a 30 March suicide attack on a military convoy near Bannu . April 2009 Binghamton shootings claim . Although the FBI later completely refuted that he had any involvement in the incident , Mehsud claimed responsibility for the shootings in Binghamton , New York , on Friday 13 April . 13 people were killed in the shooting , after which the attacker committed suicide . In a telephone interview , Mehsud reportedly said : " I accept responsibility . They were my men . I gave them orders in reaction to US drone attacks . " Mehsud made this claim despite the fact that the gunman in the shootings was alone and of Vietnamese nationality and had stated other motives in his last letter .