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| Pakistan Taliban name Maulana Fazlullah new leader | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Pakistan's Taliban have named Maulana Fazlullah as their new leader, after the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack, a spokesman has said. | |
| Mullah Fazlullah is a hardline chief from the Swat area whose men reportedly shot schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. | |
| Mehsud was killed when missiles struck his vehicle in the North Waziristan region on 1 November. | |
| Pakistan's government accused the US of destroying its attempts to start peace talks with the Taliban. | |
| Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan said that the strike was "not just the killing of one person, it's the death of all peace efforts". | |
| The BBC's Richard Galpin in Islamabad says Mullah Fazlullah is likely to be very much opposed to any peace initiative. | |
| Mehsud clan | |
| The announcement was made by the Taliban's caretaker leader Asmatullah Shaheen at a press conference at an undisclosed location. | |
| There was reportedly heavy celebratory gunfire in the Miranshah area when the news was announced. | |
| Maulana Fazlullah led a brutal campaign in Swat between 2007 and 2009, enforcing hardline Islamic law that included burning schools, and public floggings and beheadings. | |
| A military operation was launched to retake the area. | |
| Prior to the latest announcement, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad said that Mullah Fazlullah was not a member of the Mehsud clan and, if appointed, would face a challenge to control the Mehsud fighters, who make up the bulk of the Taliban's manpower. |