Pakistan: Another Reported Blow to the TTP Leadership

Pakistan's interior minister said senior Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Qari Hussain Mehsud may have been killed. If confirmed, the death would represent a major setback for the TTP given Hussain's importance in orchestrating suicide attacks and his links to Punjabi militants. The TTP already was facing internal fractures when reports of Hussain's death surfaced — fractures Pakistan will try to widen in its bid to seek a negotiated settlement when the TTP has been sufficiently weakened.