Taliban commander claims Baitullah Mehsud alive

Islamabad: A fellow commander in the Pakistani Taliban denied Baitullah Mehsud, the movement's leader, was killed in a suspected US drone attack this week, the BBC reported on Saturday.

Hakimullah Mehsud, who controls fighters in the Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber tribal regions, described reports of Mehsud's death as "ridiculous" and said it was "the handiwork of the intelligence agencies", the BBC Urdu service website said.

There was no independent confirmation of the claim, the BBC said, and Pakistan's foreign minister said late on Friday that he was "pretty certain" Mehsud was killed in the drone attack on Wednesday.