PTIUS announces USD 5 million reward for Baitullah Mehsud

Lalit K Jha Washington, Mar 25 : The US today announced a USD 5 million award for information on Pakistani terrorist leader Bitullah Mehsud, the mastermind behind the assassination of the former Premier Benazir Bhutto and a host of other terror attacks inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. "The US Department of State has authorised a reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading to the location, arrest, and/or conviction of Baitullah Mehsud, the senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban (Taliban Movement of Pakistan)," State Department Deputy Acting Spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a statement.
"Mehsud is regarded as a key al-Qaida facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan," it said. "Pakistani authorities believe that the January 2007 suicide attack against the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was staged by militants loyal to Mehsud.
Press reports also have linked Mehsud to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the deaths of other innocent civilians," Duguid said. PTI