Killings Rattle Pakistan Taliban

By ZAHID HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD -- The struggle among the Pakistan Taliban's leadership intensified Sunday, as members of the militant group killed several people close to slain commander Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistani government officials said.

Among those killed, officials said, were Mawlvi Ikramuddin, the father-in-law of Mr. Mehsud, along with Mr. Ikramuddin's two sons and a brother. Taliban militants accused the slain individuals of tipping off authorities about Mr. Mehsud's whereabouts.

"According to our information they all have been killed," Rehman Malik, the federal interior minister, told reporters Sunday. The Taliban didn't claim responsibility for the deaths.

Several weeks ago, militants killed a driver of Mr. Mehsud's, apparently following allegations that the driver had spied for the government. Also slain: Saadullah Mehsud, a medic treating Baitullah Mehsud, who suffered from a kidney ailment.

Baitullah Mehsud headed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a disparate alliance of tribal militant factions. He was thought killed in South Waziristan this month, when a missile fired by a U.S. drone struck the house of Mr. Ikramuddin, the father of his second wife.

Because the missile hit the house shortly after Mr. Mehsud's medic had departed, the Taliban also accused the medic, Saadullah Mehsud, of passing information to the authorities, according to a government official.

The news of the killing of Mr. Ikramuddin and others came a day after the Taliban announced it nominated Hakimullah Mehsud to succeed Baitullah Mehsud as chief of the TTP. Hakimullah Mehsud and Baitullah Mehsud aren't related but are members of the Mehsud tribe.

A TTP spokesman said a 42-member Shura, or tribal council, elected Hakimullah Mehsud to succeed Baitullah Mehsud, who was described as in failing health. Taliban leaders insist that Baitullah Mehsud is alive.

Hakimullah Mehsud, thought to be 29 years old, is known as a ferocious fighter. He was reportedly involved in a shootout with his rival, Wali Ur Rehman, during a Shura meeting called earlier this month to elect Baitullah Mehsud's successor. Mr. Rehman, a former spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud, was believed to have been injured in the exchange of gunfire.

Some Pakistan and U.S. officials say they believe Hakimullah Mehsud may have died in the shootout. "There's no question," said a senior U.S. intelligence official in the region, "He's dead. He was killed in the shootout. We've got no reason to doubt the [intelligence] we're seeing."

However, Pakistani journalists who say they recognize the rebel leader's voice say they spoke to Hakimullah Mehsud shortly after he was rumored to have been killed. No public evidence has emerged of his death.

Since Baitullah Mehsud's apparent death, the TTP has struggled to hold together its loosely grouped militancy. As Baitullah Mehsud's deputy, Hakimullah Mehsud earned a reputation as a ruthless enforcer. Analysts said the election of the young and impetuous militant could accentuate divisions in the group.

"Hakimullah seems to have overpowered his rivals and managed to get himself elected through intimidation, but the tussle is far from over," said Mahmood Shah, a retired army brigadier and a former security chief in Pakistan's tribal regions. "His nomination could lead to bloody clashes between the rival factions," he added.

Hakimullah Mehsud's men have been blamed for attacking U.S. and NATO supply convoys traveling to Afghanistan. He has also claimed responsibility for the June bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar, and the deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, earlier this year.

—Matthew Rosenberg in Kabul contributed to this article.