Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud killed
Correspondent | Saturday November 2, 2013 13:14
A spokesman told the BBC all security measures were now being taken.
Pakistan media say Mehsud's funeral has taken place at an unknown location in the tribal area of North Waziristan.
A Pakistan government minister said the drone strike had destroyed attempts to hold peace talks with the militants.
Mehsud was killed along with four other people - including two of his bodyguards - when four missiles struck their vehicle in the north-western region of North Waziristan, a senior Taliban official told the BBC.
The Taliban's ruling council met on Saturday to choose a new leader. Unconfirmed reports say regional commander Khan Said Sajna has been elected to the top job.
As well as Mehsud, the previous Pakistan Taliban leader was killed in a drone strike, in 2009.
Neither the Pakistani nor US governments have officially confirmed or denied the reports of the strike and Mehsud's death.
However, Pakistan's security forces have been put on high alert. Militants have in the past carried out retaliatory attacks after the killings of other Taliban commanders.
Caitlin Hayden, a spokesperson for the US president's National Security Council, would not comment on any US government involvement or confirm the death but said, if true, it would be a serious loss for the group.
Several previous claims of Mehsud's death, made by US and Pakistani intelligence sources, have proven untrue.
Without commenting on Mehsud's death, the Pakistan government said it strongly condemned the drone attack as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.
It took place a day before the a delegation had been due to fly to North Waziristan to meet Mehsud and other senior militants.
But Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan said the strike had destroyed the government's attempts to hold peace talks.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had pledged to talk with the Taliban to try to end its campaign of violence, which has left thousands dead in bombings and shootings across the country.
Potential successors
Some Pakistani media reports say Mehsud's funeral took place on Saturday , but the details are unclear.
A report in Pakistan's Express Tribune said Mehsud had already been buried - in an unknown location in North Waziristan. The report cannot be independently confirmed.
Taliban commanders are also expected to meet on Saturday to debate Mehsud's successor.
There are conflicting reports in Pakistani media about who will become the next TTP chief, with some sources naming Mehsud's cousin, Qari Walayat Mehsud, and others reporting militant commander Khan Said Sajna as the chosen successor. Mullah Fazlullah is another candidate.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that Khan Said Sajna may be favoured.
Sajna heads one of the more influential groups that favours dialogue with the Islamabad government, he says.
Our correspondent says that the influential Punjabi Taliban may also have a say. Although they cannot dominate the Mehsud-led TTP, he says the Punjabi force plays an important role in supplying highly trained and ideologically motivated fighters.
Mehsud's death is seen as another setback for the militant group after the recent capture of a senior commander by US forces in Afghanistan.
Mehsud, who led the insurgency from North Waziristan, had a $5m (£3.1m) FBI bounty on his head and was thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
He came to prominence in 2007 as a commander under the militant group's founder Baitullah Mehsud, with the capture of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his prestige among the militants.
His second-in-command, Waliur Rehman, was killed in a similar drone strike in May.
But BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says that, however weakened the Taliban may be by this loss, they will fight on under a new leader.
In a rare interview with the BBC two weeks ago, Mehsud said he was open to 'serious talks' with the government but said he had not yet been approached.
Mehsud denied carrying out recent deadly attacks in public places, saying his targets were 'America and its friends'.
He had loose control over more than 30 militant groups in Pakistan's tribal areas. (BBC)