According to the Associated Press, intercepted radio transmissions suggest Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP, a.k.a. the Pakistani Taliban) may have been killed in a U.S. drone strike on January 12.
The TTP was responsible for the narrowly failed 2010 Times Square Bombing, as well as countless destabilizing attacks in Pakistan.
If Mehsud was killed (he was falsely reported killed in a 2010 strike), it is a significant achievement, and explains why U.S. forces ended their self-imposed hiatus from drone strikes in Pakistan. But the likely doesn't mean the end of the TTP as a threat, as they have persisted and arguably thrived since the successful targeting of Baitullah Mehsud in 2009.
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