Wali-ur-Rehman (Wali Ur-Rehman Mehsud) (1970
– 29 May 2013) was a senior
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander based in
South Waziristan.
[
] Wali-ur-Rehman was formerly a spokesman for
Baitullah Mehsud, the late leader of the TTP.
[
]
Background
Wali-ur-Rehman's family hails from the Mal Khel branch of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan. In 1996, he finished studies at the Jamia Islamia Imdadia madrassa in Faisalabad and returned to South Waziristan to teach in a madrassa in Kani Guram. He was affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party prior to joining the Taliban in 2004.Predator drone
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ( ...
, a shura convened to choose his successor to lead the Pakistani Taliban.[ Wali-ur-Rehman was considered a contender for leadership. On 9 August 2009, it was rumored that a heated exchange at the shura escalated to open gunfire, and Wali-ur-Rehman allegedly shot Hakimullah Mehsud, another leadership contender. Rehman called a Reuters reporter to deny that there was fighting or a shura. He and Hakimullah later telephoned the BBC to confirm the death of Baitullah Mehsud.]Specially Designated Global Terrorist
A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...
s and the TTP to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organization
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved ...
s. On 26 August 2011, an interview with him was aired on Al-Arabiya TV
Al Arabiya ( ar, العربية, Arabic romanization, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an International broadcasting, international Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dub ...
, in which he threatened to "wreak vengeance" on the U.S. and NATO (especially France and Britain) with "an attack greater than 9/11."
Death
On 29 May 2013, Wali-ur-Rehman was reportedly killed by a US drone strike
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakista ...
on a compound in the Chashma area of Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan tribal region in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. The strike also killed six of his associates. His death was confirmed by Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan on 30 May 2013.
Retaliatory attack
In retaliation, the Jundul Hafsa group of the Taliban took credit for storming the base camp of the mountain Nanga Parbat. Two guides were abducted, who led them to a site where 10 foreign tourists were killed, including two Chinese, one Chinese-American and one Nepalese. Other reports said five Ukrainians and one Russian were killed. A Taliban spokesman stated "By killing foreigners, we wanted to give a message to the world to play their role in bringing an end to the drone attacks."Fox News American among 10 foreign tourists shot dead in Pakistan. Published 23 June 2013 Associated Press
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References
{{Tehrik
1970 births
2013 deaths
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List
Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) politicians
Pashtun people
Taliban spokespersons
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members
Deaths by United States drone strikes in Pakistan
Pakistani Islamists