Killing reveals schism in Pakistani Taliban

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The assassination of the leader of a renegade Pakistani Taliban faction by one of his own men Tuesday underscores a growing rift in the ranks of the rebel group as it braces for an impending army assault in the volatile northwest.

Qari Zainuddin's killing sets back government hopes of exploiting these internal divisions in the South Waziristan tribal region, where the army has been pounding strongholds of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in apparent preparation for a major, U.S.-backed offensive.

Zainuddin was shot while taking a morning nap — allegedly by his own bodyguard, Gulbadin Mehsud.

Baitullah Mehsud, who is linked to al-Qaida, has been blamed for several bombings — including the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, for which he denied responsibility — and has been credited with building a production line of suicide bombers he can deploy at will.

Also on Tuesday, a suspected U.S. drone attack killed at least 60 people at the funeral gathering in South Waziristan, residents of the area and local news reports said. Details of the attack, which occurred in Makeen, remained sketchy but the reported death toll would make the strikes one of the most deadly since the United States began using the unmanned aircraft to fire remotely guided missiles in Pakistan's tribal areas.

It's in the tribal regions, which share a 1,560-mile border with Afghanistan, that the United States says al-Qaida revived after the U.S.-led invasion that drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. The area also is a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

In a part of the world where tribal politics are often fluid and marked by intrigue, Zainuddin was allied with Mehsud's predecessor. When that tribal leader was killed, paving the way for Mehsud's ascent, an angry Zainuddin split off, taking several hundred rebels with him.

The U.S. has offered a reward of $5 million for information on Mehsud's location or other intelligence leading to his arrest.

Also

U.S. base deal: The former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan tentatively approved a deal Tuesday that should allow the United States to continue shipping military hardware and troops crucial to operations in Afghanistan through an air base in the Central Asian state. In February, U.S. forces were ordered out by a presidential decree amid suspicion that Russia, which staunchly opposes Western military presence near its borders, had influenced the move.