Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is seen after a meeting with security forces in Sara Rogha, located in Pakistan's South Waziristan in this February 7, 2005 file photo. The Pakistani Taliban announced a successor to slain commander Mehsud, but intelligence officials said August 23, 2009 it was probably a smokescreen meant to hold together a movement left leaderless for almost three weeks. Reuters Pictures 3 months ago

Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is seen after a meeting with security forces in Sara Rogha, located in Pakistan's South Waziristan in this February 7, 2005 file photo. The Pakistani Taliban announced a successor to slain commander Mehsud, but intelligence officials said August 23, 2009 it was probably a smokescreen meant to hold together a movement left leaderless for almost three weeks.

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  1. A Pakistani boy stands on the front step of his house at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  2. A Pakistani driver steers his tuk-tuk taxi through Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  3. A police officer directs heavy traffic at rush hour in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  4. A Pakistani man pulls a cart laden with plastic pipes at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  5. Pakistani boys fly a kite at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  6. Pakistani labourers stack old wooden window frames into a truck at dusk in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  7. Two Pakistani boys talk on a bridge at dusk in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  8. A Pakistani woman peaks out from her front door at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  9. Pakistanis place flowers by portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.
  10. Pakistanis scatter petals by portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.
  11. Pakistanis gathered by portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters scatter petals to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.
  12. Pakistanis gather by portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.
  13. A Pakistani Sikh places a flower arrangement in front of portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.
  14. UPDATES: ADDS the name Hakimullah Mehsud who replaced Baitullah Mehsud in August. Map shows the Taliban and related groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  15. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik gestures during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. Malik said the Taliban carried out the attack to avenge the Aug. 5 slaying of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in a U.S. drone attack.
  16. Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud (C) sits with other millitants in South Waziristan October 4, 2009 in this video grab taken from footage released October 5, 2009. Hakimullah, the new chief of Pakistani Taliban militants who U.S. and Pakistani officials said might be dead, has surfaced to meet journalists in his stronghold of South Waziristan. Hakimullah, who became Pakistani Taliban chief after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. missile strike in early August, looked healthy in pictures broadcast by Pakistan's Dawn Television on October 5, 2009.

Recent Photos From The Wire

  1. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (front) inspects a cotton plant farm of the Korean People's Army's 1596 unit in an undisclosed place in North Korea in this picture released by North Korea's official KCNA news agency November 29, 2009. KCNA did not state expressly the date when the picture was taken.
  2. The Amazon forest burns next to the city of Mandaquiri, November 28, 2009. The world's biggest rainforest is suffering from seasonal drought. Picture taken November 28, 2009.
  3. LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Mike Bryan of USA plays with Bob Bryan of USA during the men's doubles final match against Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Andy Ram of Israel during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 29, 2009 in London, England.
  4. Russia's Alexander Legkov competes in the men's 15 km World Cup cross country event at Ruka ski resort near the town of Kuusamo November 29, 2009.
  5. LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Mike Bryan of USA plays with Bob Bryan of USA during the men's doubles final match against Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Andy Ram of Israel during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 29, 2009 in London, England.
  6. MOSCOW, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 29: Alexey Berezutski (R) of FC CSKA Moscow battles for the ball with Andrey Karyaka (L) of FC Saturn Moscow Oblast during the Russian Football League Championship match between FC Dinamo and FC Saturn at the Luzhniki Stadium on November 29, 2009 in Moscow, Russia.
  7. LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov of Everton is tackled by Steven Gerrard of Liverpool during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on November 29, 2009 in Liverpool, England.
  8. MOSCOW, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 29: Sergey Ignashevich (L) of FC CSKA Moscow battles for the ball with Dmitry Kirichenko (R) of FC Saturn Moscow Oblast during the Russian Football League Championship match between FC Dinamo and FC Saturn at the Luzhniki Stadium on November 29, 2009 in Moscow, Russia.
  9. LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Javier Mascherano of Liverpool celebrates after the opening goal was scored via a deflection from Joseph Yobo of Everton during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on November 29, 2009 in Liverpool, England.
  10. Prominent Western Sahara independence campaigner Aminatou Haidar watches a concert in her honour on a laptop screen while on a hunger strike at the Guacimeta airport, on Spain's Canary island of Lanzarote, November 29, 2009. Spain has offered Spanish nationality to Haidar in an attempt to persuade her to end a hunger strike in protest at Morocco's refusal to allow her to return to her desert home.
  11. Chinese wait outside a university to take part in a nationwide civil service entrance exam in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. More than one million applicants are expected to participate in the examination, and only 15,000 positions are available, according to a news reports. (AP Photo) ** CHINA OUT.
  12. People pass by the Darulaman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009.
  13. Bob and Mike Bryan, right, of the United States return the ball to Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Israel's Andy Ram during the final of the doubles at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Sunday Nov. 29, 2009.
  14. Chinese wait outside a university to take part in a nationwide civil service entrance exam in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. More than one million applicants are expected to participate in the examination, and only 15,000 positions are available, according to a news reports. (AP Photo) ** CHINA OUT.
  15. Bob and Mike Bryan, left, of the United States return the ball to Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Israel's Andy Ram during the final of the doubles at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Sunday Nov. 29, 2009.
  16. Passengers in a bus look on at a bus stand in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009.