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Pakistan Taliban deny US drone strike killed top leader

14 January 2010 12:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ayaz Abdulla â€“ APA. The Pakistani Taliban have denied their leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack in the north-west, APA reports quoting BBC News.
At least 10 suspected militants died when missiles were fired at a target in the North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials say.
A Taliban spokesman said Mehsud had been in the area but left before the alleged training camp was attacked. He is on a list of key militant targets.
Hundreds of people have been killed in drone attacks since mid-2008.
Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, killed last August, was among them.
North and South Waziristan - where the Mehsud faction comes from - are major sanctuaries for militants.
Pakistan’s army launched an offensive in South Waziristan in October and is under US pressure to do the same in North Waziristan.