Mehsud's 25 mn fortune triggers Taliban infighting

LONDON: Taliban commanders in Pakistan are fighting a bloody battle to take control over slain leader Baitullah Mehsud's whopping ��25 mn fortune, British media claimed on Tuesday.

Quoting sources close to the Taliban, the British newspaper Daily Telegraph reported that Mehsud had built a vast financial empire on drug and weapon smuggling, "tolls" on haulage and transport bosses, and donations from al-Qaida and wealthy Arabs.

Mehsud, who took the Taliban's jihad into Pakistan's cities with suicide bomb attacks, is believed to have been killed last week in a US drone attack on his father-in-law's home in South Waziristan. According to the report quoting Pakistani government officials and some Taliban sources, Mehsud, his father-in-law, wife, brother and seven of his fighters were killed in the attack in Zagara village.

Reports of a violent struggle to seize control of his empire emerged after a pro-government Taliban leader claimed two rival commanders had been killed in a shootout at a meeting of senior figures to choose Mehsud's successor. However, this was challenged on Monday when the rivals reportedly called up major national and international news agencies to confirm they were alive.