Wali-ur-Rehman

 Wali-ur-Rehman (Wali Ur-Rehman Mehsud) (c. 1970, (Bannu) ^[1] - 29 May 2013) was a senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander based in South Waziristan.^[2][3] Wali-ur-Rehman was formerly a spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud, the late leader of the TTP.^[2]

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.^[1]

Following Baitullah Mehsud's death in a missile attack launched from a Predator drone, a shura convened to choose his successor to lead the Pakistani Taliban.^[2] Wali-ur-Rehman was considered a contender for leadership. On August 9, 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.^[4] He and Hakimullah later telephoned the BBC to confirm the death of Baitullah Mehsud.^[5]

On November 2, 2009, Pakistani authorities offered a Rs50 million ($600,000) ^[6] reward for information that leads to the capture or killing of Wali-ur-Rehman. They offered the same reward for similar information regarding Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain and smaller rewards for 16 other TTP militants.^[7][8] On September 1, 2010, the United States added him and Hakimullah Mehsud to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists and the TTP to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.^[9] On August 26, 2011, an interview with him was aired on Al-Arabiya TV, in which he threatened to "wreak vengeance" on the U.S. and NATO (especially France and Britain) with "an attack greater than 9/11."^[10]

Death  

On 29 May 2013, Wali-ur-Rehman was reportedly killed by a US drone strike 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.^[11] His death was confirmed by Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan on 30 May, 2013. ^[12]