Know more about slain Pak Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud

New Delhi: The death of Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike has been described as a “victory” by the US media. Mehsud, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, took over as leader of the Pakistani Taliban in 2009 after its two previous leaders were killed in drone strikes.Mehsud was brought into the insurgency by his cousin Qari Hussain, who was the Taliban's top trainer for suicide bombers until he was killed in a drone strike.Hakimullah Mehsud was born in 1979 in the region of Kotkai near the town of Jandola in South Waziristan. He had his primary education in a small village madrassa in Hangu District. He is also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud.Initially he joined jihad as bodyguard of Baitullah. Earlier his name was Jamshed Mehsud but after joining Jihad he adopted the nom de guerre Zulfiqar, then later took the name Hakimullah. In 2004 he was declared the spokesman of Pakistan Taliban. In 2008, he was given command of the Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram districts. As per reports he gained a reputation within the Taliban for his battle skills with the AK-47 and the Toyota pick-up truck.Finally at the age of 30 on 22 August 2009, Hakimullah Mehsud took over as the chief of Pakistan Taliban group from Baitullah Mehsud, a fellow clan member after the latter was killed in a US drone strike.Mehsud was involved in the 2009 attack on the CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, having appeared in a video filmed before the attack with the Jordanian suicide bomber. He was killed in a drone strike on 1 November 2013.CNN, however, noted “This is not the first time Mehsud—who took the reins of the Pakistani Taliban in 2009 -- has been reported killed after a drone strike. In February 2010, multiple sources said he had died after being hit in a drone strike in Pakistan a month earlier.But reports that he was alive surfaced in April of that year, and in May 2010 he appeared in a video vowing attacks on major US cities.