No. 2 in Pak Taliban killed by US drone?

• First drone attack since Pakistan has had general elections
• Reports remain unconfirmed because of heavy army presence in North Waziristan
• Talibani spokesperson deny reports. Claim that they are fake
• If proven true, this will be a major blow to the Pakistani Taliban

Peshawar (AP): A suspected US drone strike on Wednesday killed the No. 2 commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistani intelligence officials said, although the militant group denied he was killed. If confirmed, the death of Waliur Rehman would be a strong blow to the militant group responsible for hundreds of bombings and shootings across Pakistan. Officials said that the strike in the country's tribal area killed a total of four people.

Two of the officials said that their informants in the field saw Rehman's body while a third said intelligence authorities had intercepted communications between militants saying Rehman was killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban however denied the reports. "This appears to me to be false news. I don't have any such information," said Ahsanullah Ahsan, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. Most of North Waziristan is under militant control, and journalists do not have access to the area, making it difficult to independently confirm such incidents. The strike was the first since Pakistan's landmark elections on May 11 in which the American drone program was a hotly debated topic. It was also the first strike in Pakistan since President Barack Obama's speech last Thursday during which he discussed more restrictive rules he was implementing on the use of the controversial drones in places such as Pakistan and Yemen. The tribal region in northwestern Pakistan is home to a variety of local and Afghan militant outfits, including Al Qaida-linked fighters. The United States administration has often criticised Pakistan, saying that it does not vigorously target militants in these areas who then attack American troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.