Assassination in Pakistan exposes Taliban rifts

updated 6:07 p.m. ET June 23, 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - The assassination of the leader of a renegade Pakistani Taliban faction by one of his own men Tuesday underscores a growing rift in the ranks of the militant group as it braces for an impending army assault in the volatile northwest.

Qari Zainuddin's killing sets back government hopes of exploiting these internal divisions in the South Waziristan tribal region, where the army has been pounding strongholds of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in apparent preparation for a major, U.S.-backed offensive.

Suspected U.S. missiles also hammered the same areas Tuesday, striking a purported Taliban training center and later a funeral procession for some of those killed in the first missile attack. Up to 40 people died — including Sangeen Khan, a top aide to Mehsud — and 60 more were wounded, said two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because it would compromise their jobs.

Mehsud has humbled the Pakistani army in past battles and has been closing ranks this year by forging fresh alliances with other powerful Taliban leaders and killing off opponents. Although Zainuddin was never seen as a serious challenger to Mehsud, the government had clearly hoped his outspoken criticism of the Taliban leader would foster others to defect and help the army with tips on where to find him.

Suspect fled in waiting car
Aides to the slain Taliban official said a guard walked into Zainuddin's office after morning prayers and opened fire at about 7 a.m., hitting him in the head and chest, and then fled in a waiting car.

Baz Mohammad, a Zainuddin aide who was wounded, accused Mehsud of ordering the assassination.

Zainuddin had recently criticized Mehsud for using suicide bombings to target civilians and, more importantly in his view, clerics inside mosques.

"It was definitely Baitullah's man who infiltrated our ranks, and he has done his job," Mohammad told The Associated Press, vowing to avenge the death.

But that will be no easy task, as shown by the military's challenges in going after Mehsud in the tribal lands on the Afghan border, where he is based. Instead of a full-on confrontation, the army has been using airstrikes and artillery to try to soften up his men's entrenched positions by attacking suspected hide-outs and training camps from far away.

The Obama administration supports anti-militant operations, seeing them as a measure of Pakistan's resolve in combating a growing insurgency. The battle could also help the war in Afghanistan because militants have launched cross-border attacks on coalition troops there.

'Overcome all tribal dynamics'
Mahmood Shah, a former top security official, said the slaying sends a message to the government that only a major operation would have a chance of defeating Mehsud.

"Baitullah Mehsud has overcome all tribal dynamics. He has resources, funding and a fighting force to strike anywhere in Pakistan," Shah said, calling him a front man for al-Qaida and his home base of South Waziristan the "epicenter in the war on terror."

Mehsud has been accused of masterminding the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and of sending scores of suicide bombers across Pakistan, fostering the creation of an alliance of Taliban commanders against him barely a month ago.

The strength of the mutineers — led by Zainuddin, Turkestani Bhittani and Commander Amir Thesil — is dwarfed by Mehsud's army, said a tribal leader from South Waziristan who asked not to be identified because he feared either Mehsud or Mehsud's enemies would kill him. He estimated Mehsud's strength at upward of 12,000 fighters, including Pakistanis, Afghans, Arabs, Uzbeks, Burmese, Chinese and even some Americans and Australians.

"They have control of the whole Mehsud area," the tribal leader said, referring to a 2,500-square-mile swath of land in the remote, mountainous tribal zone. "He will be difficult to eliminate. The Pakistani forces will face a tough fight."

That battle may be harder with Zainuddin's assassination.

"Any further defections from Baitullah Mehsud might not take place," Shah said, adding that Zainuddin's value to the government was as a potential informant who "could tell where the hideouts would have been."

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