Tehrik-i-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud dies

[pakalert]

ISLAMABAD: Tehrik-i-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud has died after a protracted illness, unconfirmed reports say.
Private TV channels including DawnNews and Geo said on early Wednesday morning that the militant commander died of renal failure.
Our reporter Ismail Khan said that although official sources, including a political agent and a security man who wished to stay anonymous, were claiming that the militant was dead, there was no independent confirmation of his death.
Meanwhile, the Tehrik-i-Taliban was denying that their chief was dead, DawnNews reported.

Baitullah Mehsud was known to be suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
Mehsud has been blamed for much of the violence in the North West Frontier Province. He was also blamed for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.