US drone strike kills Pakistani Taliban chief

A US drone strike has killed Pakistani Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, along with four other people in the tribal area of North Waziristan, local intelligence officials say.

The casualties come after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fired four missiles at a vehicle used by the Pakistani Taliban leader on Friday.

Local Taliban militants have confirmed the death, saying that the funeral for their leader will be held tomorrow afternoon at an undisclosed location in the volatile region.

Mehsud became the chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2009.

The fresh US drone strike comes a day after three other people were killed in another drone strike in the same area.

Washington says it is targeting militants through its drone attacks. However, many of the victims turn out to be civilians.

US President Barack Obama recently defended the use of the controversial drones as “self-defense.”

The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Obama government.

The United Nations and several human rights organizations have already identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.

Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life.

Alston went on to say that he fears the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a “play station” mentality.